New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: 6 Races [PEACH]

  1. - Top - End - #1
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Post 7 Races [PEACH]

    I've been working on a campaign setting for a while in fits and starts, and I decided early on that I would build my own races to replace the standard set in 3.5 (except humans). I've also always felt that the free feat and extra 3+level skill points that a human gets are (or at least look) much stronger than what most other races get. To that end, I decided to give each of the races I created a special power that I tried to make comparable to a good feat.

    Some notes:
    -many of these races started as something in core, which is more or less obvious depending on the race.
    -Assume Rich's Diplomacy rules will be in use.
    -I'll be using FrozenFeet's feat redesign with these races, and each race will have a synergy buff equivalent to one feat in one or two tags. If there's interest, I'll add which ones to the current stats.

    So then, without further ado, my questions are as follows:

    1) Are these races balanced with each other?
    1a) If not, who is weak, and what should be done about it?

    2) Are these races balanced with humans, as they exist in SRD?
    2a) If not, what can I add to humans to make them closer?

    Also, anyone who wants to provide art for these races, I will love you forever.

    Dareth

    Dareth are lithe humanoids with nearly black skin. They are shorter and thinner than humans, with lighter, finer bones. Their hair is usually extremely pale blond, verging on white, and most dareth have red or yellow eyes. Dareth have thin jaws with little fat on them; their mouths are small and filled with finely pointed teeth.

    A dareth’s most arresting physical feature is the pair of ears that she possesses. A dareth's ears are supported by several long bones rayed out in a star pattern and webbed like a frog's foot. They are set somewhat higher on the head than a human's, and are controlled by muscles near the base, giving the dareth the ability to fold her ears like a fan. The degree to which the ears are folded is an important part of a dareth’s body language. These ears make dareth able to pick up sounds that would be too quiet for a human to hear. The ability to hear such subtle sounds leads dareth to speak somewhat more quietly than other races. Their ears also make dareth somewhat sensitive to loud noises, though they can partially fold their ears to counteract this sensitivity.

    Dareth can be divided into three ethnic groups based on the number of bones in their ears. The most common are four-boned dareth. At full extent, a four-boned dareth’s ears measure six inches from base to tip along the bone, and about the same distance from the tip of the first bone to the tip of the fourth. The next most common variety have five bones. Their ears are much larger, measuring near eight inches from base to tip and almost ten from first bone to fifth at their full extent. The final ethnic group possess three ear bones. These bones are about as long as those of four-boned dareths, but three-boned dareth have less connective skin between the bones, so their ears measure no more than three inches from first to third bone. While their ears unfold less, a three-boned dareth’s ear joint is more articulated than those of other dareth, so a three-boned dareth can rotate his ears. This results in a similar level of expressibility but a somewhat different body language.

    Dareth racial traits

    +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Dareth are quick and agile, but have less muscle mass than humans.

    Humanoid (dareth): Dareth are humanoids with the dareth subtype.

    Medium: As medium creatures, dareth have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

    Dareth base land speed is 30 feet.

    Blindsense 30 feet: A dareth can use sound to detect the presence of other creatures she cannot see. A dareth does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice and locate creatures within 30 feet of her. Any opponent she cannot see still has total concealment against her, and she still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects her movement. She is still denied her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attackers she cannot see. Magical silence effects negate this ability. This ability is not active while the dareth is asleep, but see below. If a dareth loses her blindsense, it does not affect her vision.

    Weapon Proficiency: A dareth is automatically proficient with the hand crossbow and the kukri. All dareth are trained in the use of subtle weapons useful to spies.

    +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks: All dareth master tricks of stealth at a young age.

    +2 racial bonus on Listen checks: Dareth have sensitive ears. Additionally, dareth take only a -5 penalty on listen checks made while sleeping.

    Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass dareth’s rogue class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


    Krauusk
    Krauusk are tall, muscular humanoids, with rough, light grey skin. They have a small amount of dark, rope-like hair on their heads, less than a human might, and no hair anywhere else on their bodies. Krau have thin necks and tall skulls, with expanded and slightly jutting jaws. The jaw opens wider than a human’s, with three ranks of inch long, bladelike teeth before a short tongue. A Krau’s hands lack thumbs. Instead, they have three or four fingers of three joints which all oppose each other. A Krau’s feet are large and thick, with four short, thick, splayed toes. They tend to have dark green or brown eyes.

    Krauusk racial traits

    +4 Strength, -2 Constitution: Krauusk are powerfully built, but they are naturally inclined towards great bursts of activity, rather than long sustained periods of work.

    Humanoid (krauusk): krauusk are humanoid creatures with the krauusk subtype.

    Medium: As Medium creatures, krauusk have no special bonuses or penalties due to size

    Krauusk base land speed is 30 feet.

    Burst (Ex): A krau may use a swift action to add a 10 foot racial bonus to his speed for 2 rounds. At every four character levels beyond first, this bonus increases by 10 feet, to a maximum of 30 feet at 9th level. This ability is usable twice per day, plus one additional time per point of Constitution bonus.

    Low-light Vision: A krauusk can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

    +2 racial bonus on Survival and Ride checks: All krauusk learn to live in the wilderness and ride horses at an early age.

    Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass krauusk’s ranger class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


    Abshandi

    Abshandi tend to be about as tall as humans, but are much thinner, and have short orange or tan fur covering most of their bodies, which is cut into patterns that reflect the abshandi's rank in society. As abshandi age, their fur fades to a dark, burnt-looking brown. Most have brown or hazel eyes.

    Abshandi culture prizes knowledge and technical skill. Many great wizards in history were abshandi, and spells they developed have become common across the continent. Abshandi are also expert mechanics and alchemists; while they are skilled with magic, they are also very good at developing technologies that do not require magic to run at all.

    Abshandi racial traits

    +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Abshandi culture encourages strong minds, but their strange looks and quiet nature often cause difficulties in social situations.

    Humanoid (shandi): Abshandi are humanoids with the shandi subtype.

    Medium: As medium creatures, abshandi have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

    Abshandi base land speed is 30 feet.

    Darkvision: Abshandi can see in the dark out to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but otherwise like normal sight, and abshandi can function just fine with no light at all.

    +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft and Craft (Alchemy) checks: Abshandi are adept at studying and identifying magic, and at mixing semi-magical concoctions. Additionally, an abshandi need not be a spellcaster in order to use Craft (Alchemy).

    Potent Alchemy: Abshandi alchemy is more advanced than that of other races, allowing abshandi to craft more potent concoctions than normal. By increasing the cost of an alchemical substance by 5 gp and the DC of the skill check to craft it by 2, an abshandi may craft an alchemical item to deal +1 damage. By increasing the cost by 10 gp and the Craft DC by 4, he may craft the item with a save DC of 1 higher than normal. An abshandi may enhance an item in this way up to five times.

    Scent (Ex): Abshandi have a very strong sense of smell. In still air, they can detect the presence of other creatures (except constructs and elementals) within 30 feet. This range is doubled if the abshandi is downwind of the creature, and halved if he is upwind. For strong odors, like smoke or rotting garbage, these ranges are doubled. For overpowering odors, like that of a troglodyte, they are tripled. Scent allows the abshandi to detect the presence but not the location of other creatures. Noting the direction of a scent is a swift action. If the abshandi moves within five feet of a scent's source, he can pinpoint its location. An abshandi with the Track feat can track by scent with the Survival skill. A typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The track DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour the track is old, increase the DC by 2. Tracking by scent otherwise follows the normal rules for the Track feat.

    Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass abshandi’s wizard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


    Faechildren

    Faechildren look human from a distance, but are fairer and thinner than most, and all are of very similar height. Closer examination will show that their ears are just slightly pointed, and that their jaws are somewhat longer and thinner than humans'. Faechildren also have oddly long fingers compared to humans.

    Faechild racial traits

    +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution: Faechildren possess some of the grace of their fae parents, but they lack some of both the magic that supports the faeré and the simple toughness that supports humans, leaving them weaker in body than most humans.

    Humanoid (human and fae): Faechildren are humanoids with both the human and fae subtypes. They are vulnerable to magical effects that affect both faeré and humans, and can take levels in prestige classes limited to either faeré or humans. Unlike faeré, faechildren need to sleep normally.

    Medium: As medium creatures, faechildren have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.

    Faechild base land speed is 30 feet.

    Low-light vision: A faechild can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

    Charm (sp): Once per day, a faechild may cast Charm Person, as the spell (save DC 10 + the faechild’s Charisma score, caster level 1st), except that it lasts for thirty minutes while the target is with the faechild or ten minutes while the target is alone.

    +2 racial saving throw against spells and spell-like abilities: A faechild’s unusual blood makes it difficult to affect her with magic.

    +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Gather Information checks: faechildren learn to convince others to give them what they need in order to survive on the road, and are adept at finding out what they need to know.

    +1 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks: Faechildren possess some of the keen senses of their faeré forbearers.

    Favored class: bard. A multiclass faechild’s bard levels do not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


    Scalefolk

    The scalefolk are human-like reptilian creatures, related to lizardfolk, who live in the Dragonback Mountains near the center of the continent. They are, however, more intelligent and less physically powerful than their cousins. They also look more human, with scales only on their upper bodies, largely human-like faces, and no tails. Their scales are usually rust-red or brown, but can be almost any color. Even when their scales are covered, scalefolk can usually be recognized by their eyes, which are yellow, with vertical pupils. In addition, they are shorter and stockier than humans.

    Scalefolk racial traits

    +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity: Scalefolk are tough, but their thick bodies make them clumsier than most humanoids.

    Humanoid (reptilian): Scalefolk are humanoids with the reptilian subtype.

    Medium: As medium creatures, scalefolk have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

    Scalefolk base land speed is 30 feet.

    +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against lizardfolk: Scalefolk hate lizardfolk, and learn special techniques for fighting them.

    +1 natural armor bonus: Their thick scales make it harder for weapons to harm a scalefolk.

    Mountain Fighting (ex): Scalefolk exceptionally skilled at defending passes and fighting on cliffs. A scalefolk gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed, overrun, or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing on a stable surface). A scalefolk keeps the above bonus for counter attempts. Additionally, a scalefolk may react to a bull rush with a counter attempt in the same way that he could react to a trip attempt by tripping his opponent. The scalefolk cannot move with his opponent on a counter bullrush, but can push him more than five feet.

    +2 racial bonus on Climb and Jump checks: Scalefolk are of the mountains, and know how to move around on uneven terrain.

    Acclimated (ex): Scalefolk are automatically acclimated to life at high altitude. They don’t take the penalties for altitude described in the Mountain Travel section on page 90 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Unlike other denizens of the mountains, scalefolk don’t lose their acclimation to high altitude even if they spend a long time at a lower elevation.

    Favored class: fighter. A multiclass scalefolk’s fighter levels do not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


    Xhohai

    Xhohai are bald humanoids with metalic-seeming skin, though their flesh is as vulnerable as that of any other race. It typically appears to be bronze or copper, but gold- and brass-skinned xhohai have been seen. A xhohai has lids over all openings on her body, including eyes, nostrils, and mouth. The nose and lips are not as strongly differentiated from the rest of the face as they would be in most other soft-skinned races; a xhohai has no lips, and her nose is just a small bump on her face. A xhohai’s hearing is not localized in a particular organ. Rather, a xhohai uses her entire skull to detect sound. Xhohai eyes lack whites or pupils, and can vary wildly in coloration, but are typically a sandy golden-brown or strong violet.

    Xhohai racial traits

    -2 Charisma: Xhohai are strongly inward-focused, and therefore have trouble with interpersonal relationships.

    Medium: As Medium creatures, xhohai have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

    Xhohai base land speed is 30 feet.

    Darkvision (Ex): A xhohai can see 60 feet in perfect darkness. Darkvision is black and white, and is not in any way affected by light.

    Naturally Psionic: Xhohai gain 2 bonus power point at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.

    Resistance (Su): Xhohai can use psionic energy to increase their resistance to various forms of attack. As an immediate action, a xhohai can spend 1 power point to gain a +4 racial bonus on saving throws until the beginning of her next action.

    Repletion (Su): A xhohai can sustain her body without food or water. If she spends 1 power point, a xhohai does not need to drink for 24 hours.

    Adaption (Su): A xhohai is able to ignore the effects of hostile environments. If she spends 1 power point, she is treated as though she were under the effects of the Endure Elements spell for 24 hours.

    Favored Class: Psion. A multiclass xhohai’s psion levels do not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

    Kyshandi

    (No real fluff right now, sorry. I haven't written it, but these are natural (arcane) magic users who look kind of, but not exactly like, goblins and are largely subterranian by choice.)

    Kyshandi racial traits

    +2 Charisma, +2 X, -2 Strength: Kyshandi have strong personalities, but their small size makes them weaker than most other humanoids.

    Spoiler
    Show
    I would like a third ability score to buff here, but I'm not sure what it should be. I thought about Wis, but that seemed too powerful.


    Humanoid (shandi): Kyshandi are humanoids of the shandi subtype.

    Small: As a Small creature, a kyshandi gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

    Kyshandi base land speed is 20 feet.

    Darkvision (Ex): A kyshandi can see 60 feet in perfect darkness. Darkvision is black and white, and is not in any way affected by light.

    +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft and Psicraft checks: Kyshandi have a natural ability to detect and understand supernatural phenomena. Spellcraft and Psicraft are always class skills for a kyshandi.

    Magically Attuned (Su): A kyshandi is constantly in tune with magic in the world around her. She can Detect Magic, as the spell, at all times, in a 20 foot radius emanation centered on her. At the start of her turn, she is treated as though she had studied the area within this radius for one round. She may choose to concentrate, as though she were sustaining the spell, in order to gain further detail, but otherwise gains no additional information from staying in the same area. A kyshandi automatically wakes up if an overwhelming aura appears within the radius of this ability. For faint, moderate, or strong auras, a kyshandi is entitled to a Spellcraft or Psicraft check, as appropriate, using the DCs listed on the following table. On success, she wakes up. Dim auras will not wake a kyshandi.
    (I don't feel like making a table, so the DCs are Faint: 25, Moderate: 20, Strong: 15)

    Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—light, mage hand, mending. Caster level 1st or the kyshandi's arcane caster level if she has one.

    Favored Class: Sorceror

    Spoiler
    Show

    I drafted an additional use for Spellcraft/Psicraft that allows a caster or manifester to disguise the strength of their spell/power and another that allows someone scanning to penetrate such a disguise. It is here.
    Last edited by unbeliever536; 2013-08-27 at 09:41 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    inuyasha's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    gehenna
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Ok Im here Peaching from the PEACH request thread:

    I see nothing wrong with these, they are fairly balanced, innovative, cool, creative, and unique. I feel these races are as strong as humans if not just a tad bit weaker (not by much though) and my favorite is the Krauusk...their just so cool
    Come post a magic item to show that not all unique items are immensely powerful tools of the gods!
    Jester of The Rudisplorkers Guild!!

    My cool avatar by Kymme
    My homebrew

    Quote Originally Posted by Xuldarinar View Post
    ..What have I done..? What have you done? That poor lantern archon..

    trophies
    The photo got removed, but I'm a silver trophy winner of Pathfinder Grab Bag XII: of Dungeons and Dragons

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Gnorman's Avatar

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Cascadia
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Krauusk: A race whose schtick is "big strong muscular survivalist type" doesn't parse logically with a Constitution penalty.

    Abshandi: What is the "shandi" subtype?

    Xhohai: This is just an elan with a different name and darkvision.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnorman View Post
    Krauusk: A race whose schtick is "big strong muscular survivalist type" doesn't parse logically with a Constitution penalty.
    I was going for high power, high speed, low endurance predator type. That's why they have the speed boost power, rather than something that buffs their tankyness. I'm also not sure where to put the penalty, since I don't want to just hand out Cha penalties all over the place, I don't feel comfortable giving any Int penalties, I don't think these guys make sense with a Wis penalty, and I don't want to do another Dex penalty on a melee race.

    Abshandi: What is the "shandi" subtype?
    I gave each other race its own subtype; "shandi" is the subtype that would be shared by these guys and a hypothetical small race that I may at somepoint stat out.

    Xhohai: This is just an elan with a different name and darkvision.
    Yarp.
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2012

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    I think the Krauusk are fine.. nothing really struckme as 'hardy' in their lore, so I see them as how you just said high power low endurance.

    i woudl give the dareth a slight (-1) penalty to sound based attack due to theri already estbalished sensitive hearing.


    other than that I think you did a bang up job here.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by ngilop View Post
    I think the Krauusk are fine.. nothing really struckme as 'hardy' in their lore, so I see them as how you just said high power low endurance.

    i woudl give the dareth a slight (-1) penalty to sound based attack due to theri already estbalished sensitive hearing.


    other than that I think you did a bang up job here.
    What if that's the way to negate their Blindsense? I'm not sure yet how to do it mechanically, but it makes sense fluff-wise. How about:

    If a dareth is in the area of a [sonic] spell or takes sonic damage, she must make a fortitude save against the effect or lose her Blindsense for 1d4 rounds. If she is also deafened by the effect, her Blindsense returns 1d4 rounds after the deafness wears off. If the effect deals damage but would not normally allow a save, the DC of the dareth's fortitude save is (10 + damage dealt).
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Troll in the Playground
     
    PirateGirl

    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Elemental Plane of Purple
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Negating the blindsense doesn't prevent the Dareth from seeing normally. Is it 15 feet or 30 feet of blindsense?

    How long does the Krauusk's burst of speed last?

    So, effectively the xhohai never need to eat or drink as long as they have at least 1 power point. Nice.

    Mountain Fighting and Acclimation seem like they should be Extraordinary abilities for scalefolk.

    Debby
    P.E.A.C.H. Please Evaluate And Critique Honestly. Being nicer and kinder doesn't hurt either. Note I generally only critique 3.5 and Pathfinder material.
    Please, please, please when using non-core material, cite to the books. There are too many books to wade through to find the one with the feat, special ability or spell you use.
    my creations in homebrew signature thread

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by Debihuman View Post
    Negating the blindsense doesn't prevent the Dareth from seeing normally. Is it 15 feet or 30 feet of blindsense?
    I'll clarify this now.

    How long does the Krauusk's burst of speed last?
    The ability is pulled from the SRD Xeph. For Xephs, it lasts 3 rounds, but since I'm going for fast, powerful, low-endurance fighters as their archetype, I'm thinking it will only go for 2 rounds, or maybe even 1. What do you think?

    So, effectively the xhohai never need to eat or drink as long as they have at least 1 power point. Nice.
    Yeah. Those abilities come from the SRD Elan; they fit perfectly with (1) the setting's psionic race and (2) a race that lives primarily in a desert.

    Mountain Fighting and Acclimation seem like they should be Extraordinary abilities for scalefolk.
    That makes sense.
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Imp

    Join Date
    Sep 2011

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    #1 Dareth- Cool sounding race.

    I would consider removing low-light vision and buff up the blindsense since the focus is on this races ears.

    I also feel the current representation for what the ears do is not so great.
    And there isn't any difference between the 3-5 bone ears which is more a missed opportunity than a problem.

    Just gonna spew out some ear ideas:
    Ear modes-
    mode 1 = no hearing but immunity to sonic and language based attacks and effects.
    mode 2= normal hearing and sight +4 listen checks

    mode 3= reduced sight enhanced hearing- See half as far as a human but gain blind sense 30 ft

    mode 4= no sight perfect hearing- no sight (immunity to sight based atks like gaze atks) blind sight 60 ft.


    maybe split these up into the 3-5 bone types. maybe the 4 bone type can only do modes 2 and 3
    and the 5 bone can do 1-4
    and maybe the 3 bone can do 1-5 but has a +1 LA and a +2 wis

    also no feat is needed to counter blindsense and blindsight since darkstalker already does that.


    #2 Krausk
    This one kind of reminds me of the long arm tribe from one piece, not sure why.
    I have no problem with the constitution penalty but if you are going to hit con you should give a better stat array. Consider +4 str -2 con as the final stat array.

    Since burst is based on their physiology consider changing it from (Su) to (Ex). Also consider changing it to a racial movement speed bonus or an untyped bonus.




    #3 Abshandi

    Orangutan race looks good =)

    It feels a tiny bit light but I can't think of anything well suited to add to it.

    It needs more fluff before I can hint something else.

    I really like the alchemy without spellcasting ability, but I don't know why orange hair people have this ability.

    This seems like a prime candidate for buffing up with a line of RACIAL FEATS.

    I like when weaker races are enticing because of the racial options they have through content like prestige classes and feats.

    #4 Faechildren

    enticing race I think the stat bonus should go to charisma over dex but other than that it looks solid.

    #5 Scalefolk

    Mountain fighting is awkwardly written, consider revising. Why does it not work while climbing if its meant to be used in the mountains? How does it work when the Scalefolk starts the maneuver? Possibly write the "counter-attack" as a separate ability?

    #6 Xhohai

    The fluff is cool but the stats seem like a poor man's Elan. Not sure how I would change it though.


    Overall, some nice races. Keep working on them, the more fluff they have the more abilities might jump out at you.

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    They all seem cool. And together they seem to fill all the roles for a set of player races. So I only have comments on 3 and I like the rest:

    Dareth: Don't have a feat to negate a specific race ability. No player will ever take it because, come on, how often will they fight that race. And when there's a PC Dareth and monsters start showing up with the feat, you only rightly look like you're going out of your way to pick on that player with something that would be useless otherwise.

    Krauusk: A con penalty is hard to pull off on a non-stealthy melee character. Seems under-powered even with the nice speed.

    Scalefolk: They seem slightly weak; other than the nice +2 con they don't have much going for them. +1 natural armor wouldn't be crazy, for example, or another such ability. A feat to further improve retaliation to special attacks is cool for style points. I'd make it. But make sure both your monsters and players like to use special attacks a lot or it will be an empty feat. On the flipside don't let it trump special attacks unless the scalefolk wins the check; you don't want to punish those who like special attacks with the risk of their whole concept falling to scalefolk retaliation some day.

    One suggestion when introducing new fluff: Try to pick a single feature from each race to focus on in NPC descriptions:
    (Starfleet officer makes comment #492 identifying a Vulcan by his pointy ears)
    Vulcan 1: "Why are the humans so obsessed with our ears?"
    Vulcan 2: "Must be jealousy."
    Last edited by ericgrau; 2013-04-11 at 05:24 AM.
    So you never have to interrupt a game to look up a rule again:
    My 3.5e Rules Cheat Sheets: Normal, With Consolidated Skill System
    TOGC's 3.5e Spell/etc Cards: rpgnow / drivethru rpg
    Utilities: Magic Item Shop Generator (Req. MS Excel), Balanced Low Magic Item System
    Printable Cardstock Dungeon Tiles and other terrain stuff (100 MB)

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #1 Dareth- Cool sounding race.

    I would consider removing low-light vision and buff up the blindsense since the focus is on this races ears.

    I also feel the current representation for what the ears do is not so great.
    And there isn't any difference between the 3-5 bone ears which is more a missed opportunity than a problem.

    Just gonna spew out some ear ideas:
    Ear modes-
    mode 1 = no hearing but immunity to sonic and language based attacks and effects.
    mode 2= normal hearing and sight +4 listen checks

    mode 3= reduced sight enhanced hearing- See half as far as a human but gain blind sense 30 ft

    mode 4= no sight perfect hearing- no sight (immunity to sight based atks like gaze atks) blind sight 60 ft.


    maybe split these up into the 3-5 bone types. maybe the 4 bone type can only do modes 2 and 3
    and the 5 bone can do 1-4
    and maybe the 3 bone can do 1-5 but has a +1 LA and a +2 wis

    also no feat is needed to counter blindsense and blindsight since darkstalker already does that.
    The low-light vision/blindsense thing makes sense; I'll do that. That's about as far as I'm willing to go with the ear thing, though. The whole 3/4/5 bone thing is meant to be purely a flavor decision.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #2 Krausk
    This one kind of reminds me of the long arm tribe from one piece, not sure why.
    I have no problem with the constitution penalty but if you are going to hit con you should give a better stat array. Consider +4 str -2 con as the final stat array.

    Since burst is based on their physiology consider changing it from (Su) to (Ex). Also consider changing it to a racial movement speed bonus or an untyped bonus.
    Yeah, you're right. It makes more sense as (Ex) and racial. And I think the stat thing makes sense as well.


    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #3 Abshandi

    Orangutan race looks good =)

    It feels a tiny bit light but I can't think of anything well suited to add to it.

    It needs more fluff before I can hint something else.

    I really like the alchemy without spellcasting ability, but I don't know why orange hair people have this ability.

    This seems like a prime candidate for buffing up with a line of RACIAL FEATS.

    I like when weaker races are enticing because of the racial options they have through content like prestige classes and feats.
    Orangutan was...not the look I was going for...

    Yeah, I struggled with them when I wrote up the abilities. They're meant to be good craftsmen and mages, but I'm not totally sure what to do with that. I just added the following as a start:

    Potent Alchemy: Abshandi alchemy is more advanced than that of other races, allowing abshandi to craft more potent concoctions than normal. By increasing the cost of an alchemical substance by 5 gp and the DC of the skill check to craft it by 2, an abshandi may craft an alchemical item to deal +1 damage. By increasing the cost by 10 gp and the Craft DC by 4, he may craft the item with a save DC of 1 higher than normal. An abshandi may enhance an item in this way up to five times.


    By the way, do you know if anyone has ever expanded or improved the alchemy system?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #4 Faechildren

    enticing race I think the stat bonus should go to charisma over dex but other than that it looks solid.
    It does fit as charisma, but I worry that if they're +2 Cha -2 Con nobody will take them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #5 Scalefolk

    Mountain fighting is awkwardly written, consider revising. Why does it not work while climbing if its meant to be used in the mountains? How does it work when the Scalefolk starts the maneuver? Possibly write the "counter-attack" as a separate ability?
    I've rewritten the ability to remove the complicated description of the counter bull rush, which works exactly like the counter trip that everyone has anyway. It doesn't work while climbing because, unless you've trained to fight while climbing, you don't have enough support under you to support complicated manuvers while you're hanging off a cliff (thanks for reminding me about climbing, though; I added a skill buff for Climb and Jump). The ability in its basic form is meant to be defensive only; that's why it specifies that the bonus comes on checks made to resist those manuvers. Right now, I'm thinking there could be two racial feats that enhance this in some way: one to give the scalefolk a small climb speed (allowing them to use Mountain Fighting while climbing), one to allow them to gain the buff offensively, make it so that they never need to move with a bull rushed opponent, and allow them to knock an opponent in a direction that the scalefolk is not moving.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gotterdammerung View Post
    #6 Xhohai

    The fluff is cool but the stats seem like a poor man's Elan. Not sure how I would change it though.


    Overall, some nice races. Keep working on them, the more fluff they have the more abilities might jump out at you.
    Mrrgh. Yeah. That seems to be coming up a lot. I want to give them bonus power points because I want them to be a psionic race, and I want them to have something to do with those power points in case someone wants to play a Xhohai that isn't a psion. I took the elan abilities that I'm comfortable with, since that's an easy solution, but you're right that it doesn't seem to fit the flavour. They should have some ability to endure heat; I don't know whether or not to tie that to PP. Otherwise I'm not sure where to go with them.

    Quote Originally Posted by ericgrau View Post
    They all seem cool. And together they seem to fill all the roles for a set of player races. So I only have comments on 3 and I like the rest:

    Dareth: Don't have a feat to negate a specific race ability. No player will ever take it because, come on, how often will they fight that race. And when there's a PC Dareth and monsters start showing up with the feat, you only rightly look like you're going out of your way to pick on that player with something that would be useless otherwise.
    k

    Quote Originally Posted by ericgrau View Post
    Krauusk: A con penalty is hard to pull off on a non-stealthy melee character. Seems under-powered even with the nice speed.
    Buffed as per Gotter's suggestion.

    Quote Originally Posted by ericgrau View Post
    Scalefolk: They seem slightly weak; other than the nice +2 con they don't have much going for them. +1 natural armor wouldn't be crazy, for example, or another such ability. A feat to further improve retaliation to special attacks is cool for style points. I'd make it. But make sure both your monsters and players like to use special attacks a lot or it will be an empty feat. On the flipside don't let it trump special attacks unless the scalefolk wins the check; you don't want to punish those who like special attacks with the risk of their whole concept falling to scalefolk retaliation some day.
    I've added the natural armor bonus; see my response on the scalefolk above for the potential feat.
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Rizban's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Aldhaven
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    As a note, if I don't comment on something, it's because I think it's good as is.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    IDareth

    Dareth racial traits

    +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Dareth are quick and agile, but have less muscle mass than humans.

    Humanoid (dareth): Dareth are humanoids with the dareth subtype.
    I'm always leery of adding new subtypes to humanoid. Favored enemy and other things that key off of humanoid always have to pick a subtype and get screwed each time a new subtype is introduced.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Blindsense 30 feet: A dareth can use sound to detect the presence of other creatures she cannot see. A dareth does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice and locate creatures within 30 feet of her. Any opponent she cannot see still has total concealment against her, and she still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects her movement. She is still denied her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attackers she cannot see. Magical silence effects negate this ability. This ability is not active while the dareth is asleep, but see below. If a dareth loses her blindsense, it does not affect her vision.
    Spoiler
    Show
    I'm planning to include a feat that will negate this ability. Thoughts?
    There are already things that negate blindsense, so there's not really a need to make one. However, a feat that allows a dareth to upgrade this to blindsight would be amazing. I'd make it available only at level 6+.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks: All dareth master tricks of stealth at a young age.
    I'm not sure where the stealth part features into the background. Perhaps drop the Hide bonus and give them a +4 to Move Silently due to their sensitive ears encouraging them to walk softer?


    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Krauusk

    ...

    Krauusk racial traits

    +4 Strength, -2 Constitution: Krauusk are powerfully built, but their large size gives them poor endurance.
    I'm not entirely sure how it makes sense that having a "larger size" makes them more frail. Perhaps with some additions to their fluff about being lethargic or low energy or reliant on hot climates or something would work? Or just say that they're powerful ambush hunters the rely on making a quick kill and can't remain in extended fights.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Humanoid (krauusk): krauusk are humanoid creatures with the krauusk subtype.
    See comment on dareth.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Burst (Ex): Three times per day, a krau may use a swift action to add a 10 foot racial bonus to his speed for 2 rounds. At every four character levels beyond first, this bonus increases by 10 feet, to a maximum of 30 feet at 9th level.
    This seems like a good ability, but I'm leery of the 3/day limitation. As a suggestion, make it 1 + Con mod per day, minimum 1. That gives a potential to having more uses of the ability and rewards particularly tough krauusk.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    +2 racial bonus on Survival and Ride checks: All krauusk learn to live in the wilderness and ride horses at an early age.
    Wait, what? Okay, Survival I can see based primarily on the ambush hunter thing I mentioned, but where did horses come from? This is the first time I've seen it mentioned, and it doesn't really seem to fit with anything I got about them based on the other things you've written.


    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Abshandi

    Abshandi racial traits

    Humanoid (shandi): Abshandi are humanoids with the shandi subtype.
    See dareth comment.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft and Craft (Alchemy) checks: Abshandi are adept at studying and identifying magic, and at mixing semi-magical concoctions. Additionally, an abshandi need not be a spellcaster in order to use Craft (Alchemy).

    Potent Alchemy: Abshandi alchemy is more advanced than that of other races, allowing abshandi to craft more potent concoctions than normal. By increasing the cost of an alchemical substance by 5 gp and the DC of the skill check to craft it by 2, an abshandi may craft an alchemical item to deal +1 damage. By increasing the cost by 10 gp and the Craft DC by 4, he may craft the item with a save DC of 1 higher than normal. An abshandi may enhance an item in this way up to five times.
    From the description, I kind of saw them as focused on magic and gears. I don't really get where the alchemy is coming from. If they're inventors, they should have something related to invention rather than improved alchemy skills. Maybe if you refluff them into being brilliant alchemists seeking to uncover the hidden laws of the multiverse...

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Scent (Ex): Abshandi have a very strong sense of smell. In still air, they can detect the presence of other creatures (except constructs and elementals) within 30 feet. This range is doubled if the abshandi is downwind of the creature, and halved if he is upwind. For strong odors, like smoke or rotting garbage, these ranges are doubled. For overpowering odors, like that of a troglodyte, they are tripled. Scent allows the abshandi to detect the presence but not the location of other creatures. Noting the direction of a scent is a swift action. If the abshandi moves within five feet of a scent's source, he can pinpoint its location. An abshandi with the Track feat can track by scent with the Survival skill. A typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The track DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour the track is old, increase the DC by 2. Tracking by scent otherwise follows the normal rules for the Track feat.
    Furry alchemist... puppies?


    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Faechildren

    Faechild racial traits

    Humanoid (human and fae): Faechildren are humanoids with both the human and fae subtypes. They are vulnerable to magical effects that affect both faeré and humans, and can take levels in prestige classes limited to either faeré or humans. Unlike faeré, faechildren need to sleep normally.
    See dareth comment.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Glamour (sp): Once per day, a faechild may cast Charm Person, as the spell (save DC 10 + the faechild’s Charisma score, caster level 1st), except that it lasts for thirty minutes while the target is with the faechild or ten minutes while the target is alone.
    On reading the ability name, I was expecting some sort of illusionary disguise. You know, a glamour. Just call this ability "charm" or something.


    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Scalefolk

    Scalefolk racial traits

    Humanoid (reptilian): Scalefolk are humanoids with the reptilian subtype.
    This one is fine, I guess, as reptilian is an existing subtype, if a fairly rare one.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against lizardfolk: Scalefolk hate lizardfolk, and learn special techniques for fighting them.
    Did not see this coming in their fluff...

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Mountain Fighting (ex): Scalefolk exceptionally skilled at defending passes and fighting on cliffs. A scalefolk gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed, overrun, or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing on a stable surface). A scalefolk keeps the above bonus for counter attempts. Additionally, a scalefolk may react to a bull rush with a counter attempt in the same way that he could react to a trip attempt by tripping his opponent. The scalefolk need not move to push his opponent back more than 5 feet on with a counter bull rush.
    Spoiler
    Show
    I'm thinking of enhancing this with a feat. Thoughts?
    This is already "Improved" Stability. I would make the counter bull rush a separate ability, possibly a racial feat instead of an inherent racial ability.


    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Xhohai
    I don't really have anything to say about them. They seem odd but not particularly in need of editing...
    Last edited by Rizban; 2013-04-11 at 07:13 PM.
    Spoiler: Links to my content threads
    Show
    Aldhaven - May 27, 2010 and ongoing.
    Aldhaven Rules and Homebrew (aldhaven.com)

    Character Repository
    Homebrew List
    Quod tibi vis fieri, facias.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Imp

    Join Date
    Sep 2011

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Orangutan was...not the look I was going for...

    Yeah, I struggled with them when I wrote up the abilities. They're meant to be good craftsmen and mages, but I'm not totally sure what to do with that. I just added the following as a start:

    Potent Alchemy: Abshandi alchemy is more advanced than that of other races, allowing abshandi to craft more potent concoctions than normal. By increasing the cost of an alchemical substance by 5 gp and the DC of the skill check to craft it by 2, an abshandi may craft an alchemical item to deal +1 damage. By increasing the cost by 10 gp and the Craft DC by 4, he may craft the item with a save DC of 1 higher than normal. An abshandi may enhance an item in this way up to five times.


    By the way, do you know if anyone has ever expanded or improved the alchemy system?
    The epic handbook does expand it but requires an epic feat to perform the ability. I know of 1 way around the epic feat and use it in my own personal Grenadier build.

    I really like potent alchemy. It looks well made.



    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    It does fit as charisma, but I worry that if they're +2 Cha -2 Con nobody will take them.
    You are right. possibly +2 dex -2 con +2 cha? I don't know that is a tricky one. They are a front loaded race as is. They still don't quite have all the enticing goodies of other - con races (like elves). I think bonus to dex and cha with minus to con could work. Dex and cha are not very strong stats without build support and con is a very strong stat for everyone.



    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    I've rewritten the ability to remove the complicated description of the counter bull rush, which works exactly like the counter trip that everyone has anyway. It doesn't work while climbing because, unless you've trained to fight while climbing, you don't have enough support under you to support complicated manuvers while you're hanging off a cliff (thanks for reminding me about climbing, though; I added a skill buff for Climb and Jump). The ability in its basic form is meant to be defensive only; that's why it specifies that the bonus comes on checks made to resist those manuvers. Right now, I'm thinking there could be two racial feats that enhance this in some way: one to give the scalefolk a small climb speed (allowing them to use Mountain Fighting while climbing), one to allow them to gain the buff offensively, make it so that they never need to move with a bull rushed opponent, and allow them to knock an opponent in a direction that the scalefolk is not moving.
    A feat that gives them a climb speed sounds good. I like the suggestion of +1 natural armor. And I also recommend giving them the ability to always treat the climb skill as a class skill.

    Quote Originally Posted by unbeliever536 View Post
    Mrrgh. Yeah. That seems to be coming up a lot. I want to give them bonus power points because I want them to be a psionic race, and I want them to have something to do with those power points in case someone wants to play a Xhohai that isn't a psion. I took the elan abilities that I'm comfortable with, since that's an easy solution, but you're right that it doesn't seem to fit the flavour. They should have some ability to endure heat; I don't know whether or not to tie that to PP. Otherwise I'm not sure where to go with them.
    Unfortunately, neither am i.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Added a new race for people who want to play small characters/ the only major race in the setting I didn't stat at the beginning. I'm not yet sure what their second ability score plus should be, though I think they do need a second.

    A few other things were slightly refluffed or clarified.

    Rizban:

    Krauusk Burst ability is now 2 + con/day (since they have a con penalty). As to additional humanoid subtypes, I'm planning to use these guys for a custom setting where there are no core humanoids (other than humans). If you want to add them to a setting that uses core races and subtypes, I'd change faechildren to Humanoid (human and elf), abshandi and kyshandi to Humanoid (goblinoid), krauusk to Humanoid (orc), dareth to Humanoid (elf) and leave scalechildren. Not sure what core subtype fits the xhohai.

    Gotterdam: Faechildren are now +2 Cha as well. Scalefolk have +1 natural armor (though they might have when you posted. It's been a while.)
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    OldWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    The US, West
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Faechildren require a +1 level adjustment for their Sp and their total attribute bonus of +2.

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    OldWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    The US, West
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Krausk needs a second -2 penalty to an ability score (mental, preferably), and the burst ability should last 1 round, not 2. This would balance out the race perfectly. Well, except...
    A ninth level Krausk Scout or Monk can move 90 ft in one round without charging, at normal speed by only sacrificing a swift action. A hasted Krausk Scout at this level can move 120 ft, normal speed, with 3 attacks in a round. This is normally only doable by level 18 for both speedy classes. A ninth level Barbarian gets 100 ft under these conditions and 3 attacks in a round. This is a bigger issue when he rages and gets 3 extra uses of Burst.
    I'm not a munchkin; I'm not really good at optimizing. That being said, its pretty clear that the burst ability should be nerfed.
    How about 5 ft at first level and every four levels after (max 25 ft at level 17). This would still provide the tactical use of the burst for any class, and it would be a cool extra boon to barbarians, scouts, and especially monks.

    So for that second penalized ability, I'd say don't penalize wis.
    I know I'm not considering Ranger potential, but this race is not really made for rangers, really.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadzooks27 View Post
    Faechildren require a +1 level adjustment for their Sp and their total attribute bonus of +2.
    They have a penalty to Con (necessary for all classes), a buff to Dex (useful, but not critical, for most, but not all classes), and a buff to Cha (useful to Cha based casters and Diplomancer builds only). That seems pretty even to me. And their spell like ability lets them convince one person, once a day, to do something relatively reasonable for them for about half an hour, max. Not all spell-like abilities require a LA.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadzooks27 View Post
    Krausk needs a second -2 penalty to an ability score (mental, preferably), and the burst ability should last 1 round, not 2. This would balance out the race perfectly. Well, except...
    A ninth level Krausk Scout or Monk can move 90 ft in one round without charging, at normal speed by only sacrificing a swift action. A hasted Krausk Scout at this level can move 120 ft, normal speed, with 3 attacks in a round. This is normally only doable by level 18 for both speedy classes. A ninth level Barbarian gets 100 ft under these conditions and 3 attacks in a round. This is a bigger issue when he rages and gets 3 extra uses of Burst.
    I'm not a munchkin; I'm not really good at optimizing. That being said, its pretty clear that the burst ability should be nerfed.
    How about 5 ft at first level and every four levels after (max 25 ft at level 17). This would still provide the tactical use of the burst for any class, and it would be a cool extra boon to barbarians, scouts, and especially monks.

    So for that second penalized ability, I'd say don't penalize wis.
    I know I'm not considering Ranger potential, but this race is not really made for rangers, really.
    If you read earlier parts of the thread, you will find that the extra +2 str was added on the advice of other brewers. On consideration, I decided that they were correct, because a melee focused krauusk needs to take down foes fairly quickly in order to make up for his reduced endurance. By the same token, such a krauusk needs to close very quickly on foes that are out of his reach. Temporary speed buffs are not otherwise really significant. Ten foot increments are enough that they will essentially always be significant, where a five foot buff is not much of anything. The 2 round duration is a reduction versus the ability this one is based on (a xeph has a Su ability by the same name) in order to reduce the krauusk's endurance. That second round of movement is not going to be significant unless the krauusk can drop a foe in a single round (not that unlikely, but also not guaranteed) and his foes are very spread out (doubtable). Raging will get a barbarian two uses of burst that will not count against his daily allotment (essentially), which doesn't make a huge difference since a barbarian probably only wants to close on his foes while raging.

    In general, balancing to already powerful effects leaves middle of the road characters in the lurch and is not something I want to do.
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    OldWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    The US, West
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    I've worked with barbarians before. They don't need a rage to benefit highly from the burst of speed.
    The greatest difference between a xeph and a krauusk is that the xeph has a -2 penalty to strength and a +2 bonus to dexterity, and is built essentially with the soulknife specifically in mind. The soulknife sucks as a melee character and a barbarian does not. At the same time, the xeph's ability modifiers make it a terrible barbarian altogether, since a barbarian does not care about dexterity as much as it does about strength.
    One thing that must be considered in all cases is the net ability modifier. The xeph, for example, has a net modifier of +0. So does almost every race with ability modifiers at level adjustment +0. Elf- +0, Halfling- +0, Human- +0, Gnome- +0, etc.
    So I did some math and basic playtesting in a combat scenario. I built the Krauusk Barbarian to have the following ability set: Str 20, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 8. This actually wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be.
    I found that you were right; the con penalty is basically punishment enough, since a barbarian (optimal class) has to put most of his focus on constitution as a result. At the same time, my friend argued that a str score of 22 and a con of 14 were equally feasable, and the 14 con score wouldn't hurt too much. He claimed that a level 1 barbarian on rage with a +10 to hit (weapon focus included) and an average of 10 hp by rage use was not too shabby at all, especially when he could charge up to 100 ft across a flat field for 2 turns, gaining a +2 to hit with each charge.
    For fun, we pitted our krauusk barbs against one another, keeping my hitpoints at 11, and his at 10. The first time, he won initiative and critted with a great axe. Well, frack. We started again, this time with obstacles and rocks, for the sake of the argument that a path is not always clear. He knocked me on my ass in the first round and then cut me in half on the second (1d12 + 8 damage).
    Well, we know that PCs and monsters are very different encounters, so we gave the +4 str the benefit of the doubt. Yet we still both agreed that for a melee fighter, speed is doubly crucial, and those burst were a definitive boon. Such a thing should usually be questioned. For example, if I wanted to build a barbarian, I'd usually pick an orc (net -2), a half orc (net -2), or a dwarf (net +0). Knowing that Krauusk is on the table (if it was), I'd always pick Krauusk. That burst is the huge YES factor there, is all I'm saying.
    I also think it should be a bit of a concern that I'm currently droolin over the aspect of creating a monk that finally kicks ass, with the Decisive strike alt class feature that allows me to deal 2d6 + 10 damage as a full-round action, at +7 to hit (WF: unarmed strike). Ability layout: Str 20, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 8. oooooh.
    Still, I won't say any more about the ability scores, since our colleagues above made such a big deal about them earlier.

    In response to faechild; I did more calculative speculations (<rolls off the tongue). The gnome was what brought me to my knees on this one. I submit to your assertions.
    Last edited by Gadzooks27; 2013-08-26 at 02:00 PM.

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: 6 Races [PEACH]

    Burst (or something like it) is really nice to have in certain niche situations (like starting out 100 feet away from your foes as a melee character, or jumping really big gaps), but doesn't really help in most typical combat scenarios, since combats in a dungeon (or even in the field, unless it's literally a field) rarely start further out than thirty or forty feet at the outside. Besides, melee that can close in easily is not melee that I'm worried about from a balance perspective.

    Incidentally, I looked at the Gnome's spell-likes when I designed the kyshandi spell-likes.
    Last edited by unbeliever536; 2013-08-26 at 02:22 PM.
    Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?

    Pokemon:
    Spoiler
    Show

    Friend Code: 4484-7979-9172
    DS name: Ben
    In-game name: Lief
    Friend safari: Charmeleon, Pansear, Ninetails


    Brew:

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •