Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
We're taking a break from our usual revamps in order to address a pretty big elephant in the room. Hybrids.
Half-elves and half-orcs have been a staple of the genre for a long time. But why just those two? If it's a peculiar quirk of Human genetics, shouldn't we have half-dwarves, half-gnomes, three-quarterlings, et cetera?
Maybe elves, humans, and orcs are just more closely related than some of the other races. Maybe dwarves, gnomes, and halflings fit on their own branch of reproductive compatibility.
Of course, half-ogres and orogs are a thing. That would mean that ogres are more closely related to elves than halflings. Hobbits (the OG halflings) were supposed to have been a subrace of men in Middle Earth.
It's an awful muddled mess. There's no consistency. No pattern. No direction.
The simplest answer is to just say that hybrids are simply not viable, or so rarely viable as to be campfire stories. That's a cop-out decision, though.
So, we can try to establish some general rules. Easy stuff, like things need to be within one size category to be viable. I don't even want to think about the awfulness of a halfling/ogre hybrid.
We could simply say that if it's a humanoid, it can crossbreed, but it somehow feels wrong for a lizardfolk and a human to produce viable offspring. So let's say oviparous and viviparous species are incompatible.
Also, I'm going to be exploring a different (Magic? Technological?) evolutionary path for the "beast races", so let's just say that any race with animalistic features will be biologically incompatible with "standard races". (I have no idea what kobolds should fall under. They don't have an easily defined animalistic origin like catfolk or vanara. Headaches.)
Let's also say that races with the same racial subtype are at least partially compatible. Elves and Dark Elves should be able to produce a child, as should Dwarves and Duergar, etc.
That still gives us a massive range of possible hybrids.
We'll definitely still need to come up with...a chart? I don't know.
I guess, in the spirit of the game, I could just randomly roll reproductive compatibility. That might lead to some legitimately interesting evolutionary history.
As far as the offspring, there's also a lot to consider.
Do we want reciprocal hybrids to exist (ligers/tigons, mules/hinnies, et cetera)? If so, that complicates things further. Reciprocal hybrids tend strongly toward infertility. The interesting quirk of that is Haldane's rule. Certain hybrids are infertile in one gender with the other being fully (usually partially) fertile. This is always the gender with two of the same chromosomes, so in mammals this means that female hybrids are more commonly fertile than males.
What about the reproductive viability of these hybrids? I very much do not want to get into possible racial traits for a quarter elf/quarter orc/half human. The easy answer is to say that all hybrids are infertile. Another cop-out decision. I feel more comfortable with hybrids having restricted viability. So a half-elf would be reproductively viable with elves, half-elves, and humans, but nothing else. That, at least, carries on some genetics and it saves me getting into all the details of numbers of chromosomes and other bioscience that I only have a basic academic knowledge of.
As far as the further breedings, there's always the "One Drop" rule that we could consider, though I don't really care for it. If a hybrid race produces child, that child will just be the hybrid. In the above example, it wouldn't matter if the half-elf mated with an elf, half-elf, or human. The result would always be a half-elf.
So, if this is the case, wouldn't the entire world eventual become these half-races, unable to breed with any other race? I mean, potentially, yeah. This is something even Darwin struggled with. A potential answer is koinophilia.
Koinophilia is, essentially, the natural draw to the thing that is most similar to you. Biological imperative wants you to breed with the most perfect example of your species that you can. Proto-dwarves, therefore, would instinctually have avoided proto-elves because their long spindly limbs would seem weak and fragile. That same instinct carries over even into civilized society. Because early evolution is propelled by the need for survival and propagation, it's just very unlikely to happen. Certainly, there are going to be dwarves that are attracted to elves, but they'll always be biological outliers. The majority of dwarves are going to be attracted to dwarves. Other races are generally going to be too tall, too short, too thin, not enough body hair, can't see in the dark, gods why do they dance so much, et cetera.
All this is to say one thing:
I just don't know.
I've written a lot of words and come to very few conclusions. I suppose, for now, I'll just push hybrids to the background.
I'm not happy about it, but I don't really see a path forward right now. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Rethinking Fantasy Races Part 09 - Half Jack
Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
Halflings. Hobbits, if you're a Tolkien purist. The funny thing is that the modern concept of halflings is actually based on very unusual hobbits. Most hobbits were homebodies, never really caring what was happening outside the Shire. Life was good, why wonder? No, modern halflings are the idealogical spawn of the Bagginses; those strange hobbits who actually enjoyed traveling or, dare I say it, adventuring? That naturally grew into the modern (wildly racist) "halflings are stereotypical gypsies" vibe that they have going on. Shady wanderers with sticky fingers and silver tongues. Fast talkers and snake oil salesmen. It's kind of tragic, even for a fictional race.
Step 1: Concept
I think I want to lean into what Tolkien first intended for hobbits in general. Sure, there will always be Bagginses; outlying exceptions proving the rule*. Those are clearly the halflings that will become adventurers, which is kind of the point of RPGs. I want that functionality to be built into the race without explicitly pushing them that direction.
*As an aside, the word "prove" used to mean "test". The exception that proves the rule isn't the thing that says beyond doubt that the rule is true, it's what makes us consider whether it really is a rule after all. Where my fellow word nerds at?
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (halfling). Hobbits supposedly shared an ancestor with humans, but we aren't gonna go that route.
SIZE - Small. That's kind of the point.
SPEED - Debatable. I kind of like the idea of them having a base speed equal to humans; faster than their short legs would imply.
ABILITIES - I'm torn again. There's the draw of the shifty conman saying that their base modifiers are dead on. Then there's the draw of the homebody cook telling me that their stats should be more similar to dwarves. I'll revisit this once I see what kind of racial traits we're going with. I honestly didn't expect halflings to be this troublesome which, I suppose, is amusingly appropriate. Underestimated even in mechanical form.
*Okay, coming back here after looking at what other traits I want to give them. I've decided that I'm happy with the +2 to Dexterity, but I'm shifting the +2 Charisma to +2 Wisdom. I'll also be keeping the -2 to Strength. I know I defended gnomes with this, but it feels appropriate on halflings.
LANGUAGES - Standard. Common and Halfling as starters.
Allies are dwarves, elves, gnomes, humans...pretty much anyone that isn't actively trying to kill them. That adds Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome.
Enemies? Let's say orcs, gnolls, and giants. Those feel good to me. So Giant, Gnoll, and Orc.
One more? Umm...Goblin? Why not?
Step 3: Racial Traits
Okay, base halfling traits are as follows:
Fearless (1 RP): Sure.
Lucky, Lesser (2 RP): I can dig it.
Sure-Footed (4 RP): Makes sense.
Weapon Familiarity (1 RP): Word.
Keen Senses (2 RP): Cool.
So...I actually like all of these. Let's see what else sticks.
Acquisitive (2 RP): I like this.
Attentive (2 RP): I really don't want to just toss a bunch of skill bonuses in the pot, but they feel good.
Blessed (1 RP): This feels way better than Fearless.
Driven Worker (4 RP): More skill bonuses...
Ingratiating (6 RP): I like it, but I think I like the more focused nature of Driven Worker better. Let gnomes be generalists, halflings can be specialists.
Low Blow (2 RP): I like it.
Practicality (5 RP): There is a ton of overlap with these traits...
Resourcefulness (5 RP): Way cool. I love unique abilities like this.
Underfoot (4 RP): Dovetails nicely with Low Blow.
Well, let's see how this goes.
HALFLING
Type - Humanoid (halfling) 0 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Normal 0 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength) 0 RP
Languages - Standard 0 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Lucky, Lesser 2 RP
Underfoot 4 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Driven Worker 4 RP
Resourcefulness 5 RP
Sure-Footed 4 RP
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow 2 RP
Weapon Familiarity 1 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses 2 RP
That brings us to 24 RP. We can drop Resourcefulness and make Driven Worker an alternate to bring us in line.
That brings our final version to...
Halfling Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Halflings are quick and have great natural instincts, but their slight builds don't help much in the way of physical prowess. The gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and -2 Strength.
Size: Halflings are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: Halflings have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Halflings begin play speaking Common and Halfling. Halflings with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Halfling Luck: Halflings receive a +1 racial bonus on all saving throws.
Underfoot: Halflings gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against foes larger than themselves and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws to avoid trample attacks.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Sure-Footed: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow: Halflings gain a +1 bonus on critical confirmation rolls against opponents larger than themselves.
Weapon Familiarity: Halflings are proficient with slings and treat any weapon with the word “halfling” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Alternate Racial Traits
Driven Worker: Many halfling families have developed techniques to accomplish work faster and more efficiently, whether to contribute to the community or to please overbearing masters. These halflings gain a +4 racial bonus on checks with one Craft, Perform, or Profession skill. This racial trait replaces sure-footed.
I think I can be happy with that. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
Halflings. Hobbits, if you're a Tolkien purist. The funny thing is that the modern concept of halflings is actually based on very unusual hobbits. Most hobbits were homebodies, never really caring what was happening outside the Shire. Life was good, why wonder? No, modern halflings are the idealogical spawn of the Bagginses; those strange hobbits who actually enjoyed traveling or, dare I say it, adventuring? That naturally grew into the modern (wildly racist) "halflings are stereotypical gypsies" vibe that they have going on. Shady wanderers with sticky fingers and silver tongues. Fast talkers and snake oil salesmen. It's kind of tragic, even for a fictional race.
Step 1: Concept
I think I want to lean into what Tolkien first intended for hobbits in general. Sure, there will always be Bagginses; outlying exceptions proving the rule*. Those are clearly the halflings that will become adventurers, which is kind of the point of RPGs. I want that functionality to be built into the race without explicitly pushing them that direction.
*As an aside, the word "prove" used to mean "test". The exception that proves the rule isn't the thing that says beyond doubt that the rule is true, it's what makes us consider whether it really is a rule after all. Where my fellow word nerds at?
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (halfling). Hobbits supposedly shared an ancestor with humans, but we aren't gonna go that route.
SIZE - Small. That's kind of the point.
SPEED - Debatable. I kind of like the idea of them having a base speed equal to humans; faster than their short legs would imply.
ABILITIES - I'm torn again. There's the draw of the shifty conman saying that their base modifiers are dead on. Then there's the draw of the homebody cook telling me that their stats should be more similar to dwarves. I'll revisit this once I see what kind of racial traits we're going with. I honestly didn't expect halflings to be this troublesome which, I suppose, is amusingly appropriate. Underestimated even in mechanical form.
*Okay, coming back here after looking at what other traits I want to give them. I've decided that I'm happy with the +2 to Dexterity, but I'm shifting the +2 Charisma to +2 Wisdom. I'll also be keeping the -2 to Strength. I know I defended gnomes with this, but it feels appropriate on halflings.
LANGUAGES - Standard. Common and Halfling as starters.
Allies are dwarves, elves, gnomes, humans...pretty much anyone that isn't actively trying to kill them. That adds Dwarven, Elven, and Gnome.
Enemies? Let's say orcs, gnolls, and giants. Those feel good to me. So Giant, Gnoll, and Orc.
One more? Umm...Goblin? Why not?
Step 3: Racial Traits
Okay, base halfling traits are as follows:
Fearless (1 RP): Sure.
Lucky, Lesser (2 RP): I can dig it.
Sure-Footed (4 RP): Makes sense.
Weapon Familiarity (1 RP): Word.
Keen Senses (2 RP): Cool.
So...I actually like all of these. Let's see what else sticks.
Acquisitive (2 RP): I like this.
Attentive (2 RP): I really don't want to just toss a bunch of skill bonuses in the pot, but they feel good.
Blessed (1 RP): This feels way better than Fearless.
Driven Worker (4 RP): More skill bonuses...
Ingratiating (6 RP): I like it, but I think I like the more focused nature of Driven Worker better. Let gnomes be generalists, halflings can be specialists.
Low Blow (2 RP): I like it.
Practicality (5 RP): There is a ton of overlap with these traits...
Resourcefulness (5 RP): Way cool. I love unique abilities like this.
Underfoot (4 RP): Dovetails nicely with Low Blow.
Well, let's see how this goes.
HALFLING
Type - Humanoid (halfling) 0 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Normal 0 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength) 0 RP
Languages - Standard 0 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Lucky, Lesser 2 RP
Underfoot 4 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Driven Worker 4 RP
Resourcefulness 5 RP
Sure-Footed 4 RP
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow 2 RP
Weapon Familiarity 1 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses 2 RP
That brings us to 24 RP. We can drop Resourcefulness and make Driven Worker an alternate to bring us in line.
That brings our final version to...
Halfling Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Halflings are quick and have great natural instincts, but their slight builds don't help much in the way of physical prowess. The gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, and -2 Strength.
Size: Halflings are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: Halflings have a base speed of 30 feet.
Languages: Halflings begin play speaking Common and Halfling. Halflings with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Halfling Luck: Halflings receive a +1 racial bonus on all saving throws.
Underfoot: Halflings gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against foes larger than themselves and a +1 bonus on Reflex saving throws to avoid trample attacks.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Sure-Footed: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks.
Offense Racial Traits
Low Blow: Halflings gain a +1 bonus on critical confirmation rolls against opponents larger than themselves.
Weapon Familiarity: Halflings are proficient with slings and treat any weapon with the word “halfling” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Keen Senses: Halflings receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Alternate Racial Traits
Driven Worker: Many halfling families have developed techniques to accomplish work faster and more efficiently, whether to contribute to the community or to please overbearing masters. These halflings gain a +4 racial bonus on checks with one Craft, Perform, or Profession skill. This racial trait replaces sure-footed.
I think I can be happy with that. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Rethinking Fantasy Races Part 08 - Mushroom Dance
Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
I was planning on making this entry about Svirfneblin, but they're just so...not gnomes. In so many ways. I'll get around to Svirfneblin eventually, I just need to figure out what I want to do with them first.
Instead, let's do probably my favorite subterranean race of all time. Hells, maybe my favorite race period.
MUSHROOM PEOPLE!
Whether Myconids or Myceloids or what have you, mushroom people have always been awesome. Maybe I watched Fantasia too many times as a child.
Step 1: Concept
So, these guys are sentient mushrooms. Adorable. Also a bit scary. Usually, they're incapable of audible speech, instead using spores to communicate telepathically with things. Let's see what we can shake out here.
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - I mean, Plant, clearly. It's a hefty entrance fee of 10 RP, but it comes with a suite of immunities that are pretty impressive. Plus, they don't need to sleep. Because there's a logical reason for that.
SIZE - While they tend to be Medium in properties that include them, I much prefer them as Small creatures.
SPEED - Slow. They're plant people. I don't imagine they move too quickly.
ABILITIES - This is a tough sell. These guys aren't anywhere near common enough to really have a codified set of abilities. That said, this gives us the freedom to do whatever we want.
I like these guys with a Constitution bonus. Plant dudes should be tough. Also, I really like the idea of them being crafty. Alchemists and such. So let's give them a bonus to Intelligence.
As far as the penalty, we're really stepping into untested waters here. I want them to have a Dexterity penalty.
"GASP!" you may say. How many Small races have a Dex penalty? Scratch that. How many races have a Dex penalty PERIOD. The answer? Incredibly few. Like...less than 1%.
But they're mushroom dudes, and I want them to be slow and awkward. It makes me happy.
LANGUAGES - I'm probably gonna just go with telepathy here. I have no idea what kind of RP equivalent that is, but it's probably gonna cost at least 1. I would add a list of races that they can at least understand, but if they evolved with telepathy, they probably don't hear the same way we do. That might be a neat weakness for them.
Step 3: Racial Traits
About the only unifying feature amongst the various incarnation of mushroom people is that they emit spores for different effects. Kind of like spell-like abilities, but not quite. Maybe supernatural abilities. I'll figure it out. That said, we're mostly just gonna be combing the race builder for cool shit, keeping in mind that just being a plant is costly.
Hydrated Vitality (3 RP) - This a cool. I like the idea of mushroom people gathering around the bank of some underground to drink up. I don't like that they have to be completely submerged.
Natural Armor (2 RP) - Ever the classic ability.
Stability (1 RP) - This is a neat ability for these guys.
Camouflage (1 RP) - Totally appropriate. I'm digging making them Small even more now.
Cave Dweller (1 RP) - Appropriate.
Fertile Soil (2 RP) - Could be cool as an alternate trait.
Spell-Like Abilities (3 RP) - It's just easier to work their spores as SLAs. I'm thinking charm person, polypurpose panacea, and sleep.
Terrain Stride (1 RP) - On point.
See in Darkness (4 RP) - These guys need it.
Light Blindness (-2 RP) - These guys need some weaknesses to balance out, and this one fits.
Treespeech (2 RP) - This is neat.
Looking deeper at it, I think I'm just going to make their racial language spore-based and give them the Xenophopbic language trait. It's a lot less costly than telepathy.
Alright, let's see what we have here.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO NAME THEM (SHROOMKIN?)
Type - Plant 10 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Slow -1 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Dexterity)
Languages - Xenophobic
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Hydrated Vitality 3 RP
Natural Armor 2 RP
Stability 1 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Camouflage 1 RP
Cave Dweller 1 RP
Magical Racial Traits
Fertile Soil 2 RP
Spell-Like Abilities 3 RP
Movement Racial Abilities
Terrain Stride 1 RP
Senses Racial Abilities
See in Darkness 4 RP
Treespeech 2 RP
Weakness Racial Traits
Light Blindness -2 RP
That puts us at 27 points. We need to cut 12. We'll drop See in Darkness. I love it, but it means that these guys now cultivate bioluminescent mushrooms for light. Hydrated Vitality and Treespeech can also go. Finally, we'll cut Stability and make Fertile Soil an alternate racial trait like we planned to all along.
Okay, let's put it together and see what we get.
Shroomkin Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Shroomkin are clever and hardy, but they are slow to move.
Type: Shroomkin are Plant creatures.
Size: Shroomkin are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: Shroomkin have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Shroomkin begin play speaking Sporren. Shroomkin with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Elven, Dwarven, and Undercommon. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Natural Armor: Shroomkin gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Plant Traits: Shroomkin are immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms), paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning. They do not need to sleep, but can choose to rest in order to regain spells and daily abilities.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Camouflage: Shroomkin gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while underground.
Cave Dweller: Shroomkin gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Survival checks made underground.
Magical Racial Traits
Spores: Shroomkin with a Constitution score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities (the caster level is equal to the user’s character level):
1/day—charm person, polypurpose panacea, sleep.
The DC is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Constitution modifier.
Movement Racial Abilities
Cavern Strider: Shroomkin can move through natural difficult terrain at their normal speed while underground. Magically altered terrain affects them normally.
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision: Shroomkin can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.
Weakness Racial Traits
Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds shroomkin for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
BONUS FEAT OPTIONS!
Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin.
Benefit: You may use root as a spell-like ability at will, and add memory lapse and glitterdust to the spell-like abilities that you may use once each per day. Your caster level is equal to your character level.
Improved Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Con 13, Spore Lord, able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin
Benefit: You may use your glitterdust, memory lapse, polypurpose panacea, and sleep spell-like abilities twice per day. Your charm person spell-like ability instead becomes charm monster, which you may use twice per day.
Greater Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Con 13, Spore Lord, Improved Spore Lord, able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin
Benefit: Your root spell-like ability is now constant. You may use your charm monster, glitterdust, memory lapse, polypurpose panacea, and sleep spell-like abilities at will.
Awesome. I like these guys already. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
I was planning on making this entry about Svirfneblin, but they're just so...not gnomes. In so many ways. I'll get around to Svirfneblin eventually, I just need to figure out what I want to do with them first.
Instead, let's do probably my favorite subterranean race of all time. Hells, maybe my favorite race period.
MUSHROOM PEOPLE!
Whether Myconids or Myceloids or what have you, mushroom people have always been awesome. Maybe I watched Fantasia too many times as a child.
Step 1: Concept
So, these guys are sentient mushrooms. Adorable. Also a bit scary. Usually, they're incapable of audible speech, instead using spores to communicate telepathically with things. Let's see what we can shake out here.
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - I mean, Plant, clearly. It's a hefty entrance fee of 10 RP, but it comes with a suite of immunities that are pretty impressive. Plus, they don't need to sleep. Because there's a logical reason for that.
SIZE - While they tend to be Medium in properties that include them, I much prefer them as Small creatures.
SPEED - Slow. They're plant people. I don't imagine they move too quickly.
ABILITIES - This is a tough sell. These guys aren't anywhere near common enough to really have a codified set of abilities. That said, this gives us the freedom to do whatever we want.
I like these guys with a Constitution bonus. Plant dudes should be tough. Also, I really like the idea of them being crafty. Alchemists and such. So let's give them a bonus to Intelligence.
As far as the penalty, we're really stepping into untested waters here. I want them to have a Dexterity penalty.
"GASP!" you may say. How many Small races have a Dex penalty? Scratch that. How many races have a Dex penalty PERIOD. The answer? Incredibly few. Like...less than 1%.
But they're mushroom dudes, and I want them to be slow and awkward. It makes me happy.
LANGUAGES - I'm probably gonna just go with telepathy here. I have no idea what kind of RP equivalent that is, but it's probably gonna cost at least 1. I would add a list of races that they can at least understand, but if they evolved with telepathy, they probably don't hear the same way we do. That might be a neat weakness for them.
Step 3: Racial Traits
About the only unifying feature amongst the various incarnation of mushroom people is that they emit spores for different effects. Kind of like spell-like abilities, but not quite. Maybe supernatural abilities. I'll figure it out. That said, we're mostly just gonna be combing the race builder for cool shit, keeping in mind that just being a plant is costly.
Hydrated Vitality (3 RP) - This a cool. I like the idea of mushroom people gathering around the bank of some underground to drink up. I don't like that they have to be completely submerged.
Natural Armor (2 RP) - Ever the classic ability.
Stability (1 RP) - This is a neat ability for these guys.
Camouflage (1 RP) - Totally appropriate. I'm digging making them Small even more now.
Cave Dweller (1 RP) - Appropriate.
Fertile Soil (2 RP) - Could be cool as an alternate trait.
Spell-Like Abilities (3 RP) - It's just easier to work their spores as SLAs. I'm thinking charm person, polypurpose panacea, and sleep.
Terrain Stride (1 RP) - On point.
See in Darkness (4 RP) - These guys need it.
Light Blindness (-2 RP) - These guys need some weaknesses to balance out, and this one fits.
Treespeech (2 RP) - This is neat.
Looking deeper at it, I think I'm just going to make their racial language spore-based and give them the Xenophopbic language trait. It's a lot less costly than telepathy.
Alright, let's see what we have here.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO NAME THEM (SHROOMKIN?)
Type - Plant 10 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Slow -1 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Dexterity)
Languages - Xenophobic
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Hydrated Vitality 3 RP
Natural Armor 2 RP
Stability 1 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Camouflage 1 RP
Cave Dweller 1 RP
Magical Racial Traits
Fertile Soil 2 RP
Spell-Like Abilities 3 RP
Movement Racial Abilities
Terrain Stride 1 RP
Senses Racial Abilities
See in Darkness 4 RP
Treespeech 2 RP
Weakness Racial Traits
Light Blindness -2 RP
That puts us at 27 points. We need to cut 12. We'll drop See in Darkness. I love it, but it means that these guys now cultivate bioluminescent mushrooms for light. Hydrated Vitality and Treespeech can also go. Finally, we'll cut Stability and make Fertile Soil an alternate racial trait like we planned to all along.
Okay, let's put it together and see what we get.
Shroomkin Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Shroomkin are clever and hardy, but they are slow to move.
Type: Shroomkin are Plant creatures.
Size: Shroomkin are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: Shroomkin have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Shroomkin begin play speaking Sporren. Shroomkin with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Elven, Dwarven, and Undercommon. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Natural Armor: Shroomkin gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Plant Traits: Shroomkin are immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms), paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning. They do not need to sleep, but can choose to rest in order to regain spells and daily abilities.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Camouflage: Shroomkin gain a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while underground.
Cave Dweller: Shroomkin gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Survival checks made underground.
Magical Racial Traits
Spores: Shroomkin with a Constitution score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities (the caster level is equal to the user’s character level):
1/day—charm person, polypurpose panacea, sleep.
The DC is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Constitution modifier.
Movement Racial Abilities
Cavern Strider: Shroomkin can move through natural difficult terrain at their normal speed while underground. Magically altered terrain affects them normally.
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision: Shroomkin can see twice as far as a race with normal vision in conditions of dim light.
Weakness Racial Traits
Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds shroomkin for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.
BONUS FEAT OPTIONS!
Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin.
Benefit: You may use root as a spell-like ability at will, and add memory lapse and glitterdust to the spell-like abilities that you may use once each per day. Your caster level is equal to your character level.
Improved Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Con 13, Spore Lord, able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin
Benefit: You may use your glitterdust, memory lapse, polypurpose panacea, and sleep spell-like abilities twice per day. Your charm person spell-like ability instead becomes charm monster, which you may use twice per day.
Greater Spore Lord (Shroomkin)
Prerequisites: Con 13, Spore Lord, Improved Spore Lord, able to use shroomkin spores, shroomkin
Benefit: Your root spell-like ability is now constant. You may use your charm monster, glitterdust, memory lapse, polypurpose panacea, and sleep spell-like abilities at will.
Awesome. I like these guys already. Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Rethinking Fantasy Races Part 07 - The Gnome
Rethinking Fantasy Races - Slaughtering Your Sacred Minotaurs
[[Note: I've transitioned into posting on Thursdays, rather than Mondays.]]
Gnomes are weird. They're a widespread mishmash of concepts depending on what setting we're talking about. Classic D&D gnomes are wild-eyed curiosity seekers. Pathfinder gnomes are the same, but this time it's a genetic draw toward the weird stuff and if you don't delve into it, you die. Or get bleached. Because they're literally fey and the Material Plane is killing them? I don't...whatever. Warcraft gnomes are mechanists and tinkers, building ever more complex tech. I'm not sure where I want to go with them yet.
Step 1: Concept
Small, mischievous, brilliant idiots. That's kind of the best description I can produce for gnomes.
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (gnome). These guys are going to solidly be from the Material Plane.
SIZE - Small.
SPEED - Slow.
ABILITIES - So, core gnomes get +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength.
The +2 Con is fine. I like it.
The +2 Cha is weird, though. I mean, a short, wild-eyed person with hair dyed seven different vivid colors and spiked up half as tall as they are is going to put people on guard. You never know when a gnome is gonna jump up on a table and start singing about pork chops. No, they definitely aren't getting a Cha bonus. What I want to give them, however, is an Intelligence bonus. They have a strong reputation as inventors and there's that old line about genius and madness, y'know?
As far as the -2 Str, aren't these guys hit hard enough? I mean, they're already dealing a die type lower for damage and their carrying capacity is only 3/4 of what a medium character can carry. Do they really need an additional penalty to Strength? Dress it up as standard modifications for size all you want. If that were true, they'd be getting +2 Dex, -4 Str, -2 Con. No, this is clearly racism. What I like for their racial penaly is -2 Wisdom. Gnomes minds tend to wander and they're just as likely to be distracted by a shiny bug as they are to be by whatever MacGuffin the adventure calls for. They just can't sit still long enough to pay that much attention. They have ADD as a racial quality.
This brings us to +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Looks good to me.
LANGUAGES - I'm a bit torn here. I definitely want to give them Linguist here, but I feel like they'd be more likely to know a smattering of seventeen different languages without being fluent in most of them. We'll still give them Linguist, but we'll find some sort of other ability that plays with language as well.
Step 3: Racial Traits
Alright, let's dive into the deep end here.
Defensive Training (1 RP) - I guess. I think I'm just instinctively shying away from traits like this. What if you never fight a giant? this becomes a wasted trait.
Illusion Resistance (1 RP) - Not these gnomes. These gnomes see pretty lights and off they go.
Keen Senses (2 RP) - Did you guys just see that fox? I'm gonna try to catch it real quick. Be right back.
Obsessive (2 RP) - Maybe? There's gotta be some kind of dilettante option where they get weird bonuses to lots of stuff.
Gnome Magic (2 RP) - Totally. I'm changing the relevant casting stat to Int, though.
Hatred (1 RP) - Meh.
Weapon Familiarity (1 RP) - Sure.
Low-Light Vision (1 RP) - Works for me.
Hrm...let's look at their alternates.
Dirty Trickster (4 RP) - Way cool.
Eternal Hope (2 RP) - I think this fits pretty well. "Come on, guys. We might find a cool leaf over that next hill!"
Explorer (4 RP) - This works. I might swap the Knowledge for Swim, though.
Gift of Tongues (2 RP) - I love it.
Inquisitive (4 RP) - Also cool.
Master Tinker (2 RP) - There are a lot of neat abilities here. We're probably gonna have more alternates for gnomes than anyone yet.
Utilitarian Magic (2 RP) - I think I like this better than Gnome Magic.
Vivacious (4 RP) - I like the idea of the gnome being ready to go hours before everyone else.
Whew. Lots there. Also, I want to pull Reflexive Improvisation (4 RP) from half-elves because I think it fits super well with gnomes and I don't know what I'm going to do about crossbreeds. I still need that linguistic dilettante ability. Something along the lines of...
Pidgin Tongue: Gnomes can use Linguistics untrained to attempt to understand or convey simple messages with another character without sharing a common language. The DC of this check is 15. If you are successful, you infer or convey a rough understanding of what is being said. If your check fails by 5 or more, you infer or convey the wrong message.
That's gotta be around the same cost as a skill bonus, right? 2 RP sounds good to me.
Alright, let's see what we have.
GNOME
Type - Humanoid (gnome) 0 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Slow -1 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom) 0 RP
Languages - Linguist 1 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Eternal Hope 2 RP
Vivacious 4 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Explorer 4 RP
Gift of Tongues 2 RP
Inquisitive 4 RP
Keen Senses 2 RP
Master Tinker 2 RP
Pidgin Tongue 2 RP
Reflexive Improvisation 4 RP
Magical Racial Traits
Utilitarian Magic 2 RP
Offense Racial Traits
Dirty Trickster 4 RP
Weapon Familiarity 2 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision 1 RP
So much stuff. That brings us to 34 RP. More than double what we're shooting for. Okay, time to look for cuts. I definitely want to keep Reflexive Improvisation and Pidgin Tongue. Let's drop Gift of Tongues. We'll bump Master Tinker up to a +2 bonus and make it an alternate, along with Dirty Trickster, Explorer, and Inquisitive. Vivacious is neat, but we can drop it. That brings us to 14. I don't want to give them darkvision, so let's add in a couple weird weapons to their weapon familiarity to bring us up to 15.
Let's finalize the little buggers.
Gnome Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Gnomes are hardy and inquisitive, but often lack the good sense to leave things alone. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, and -2 Wisdom.
Type: Gnomes are Humanoid creatures with the gnome subtype.
Size: Gnomes are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: (Slow Speed) Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Gnomes begin play speaking Common and Gnome. Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Eternal Hope:Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects. Once per day, after rolling a 1 on a d20, the gnome may reroll and use the second result.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Keen Senses: Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Pidgin Tongue: Gnomes can use Linguistics untrained to attempt to understand or convey simple messages with another character without sharing a common language. The DC of this check is 15. If you are successful, you infer or convey a rough understanding of what is being said. If your check fails by 5 or more, you infer or convey the wrong message.
Reflexive Improvisation: Gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on untrained skill checks.
Magical Racial Traits
Gnome Magic:Gnomes add 1 to the DC of any saving throws against transmutation spells they cast. If their Intelligence score is 11 or higher, they also gain the following spell-like abilities 1/day—mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, and unseen servant. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Intelligence modifier.
Offense Racial Traits
Weapon Familiarity:Gnomes are proficient with bandalores, flailpoles, and horsehides, and treat any weapon with the word “gnome” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision:Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Alternate Racial Traits
Dirty Trickster:All gnomes love pranks, but some specialize in those improvised during battle. These gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on dirty trick combat maneuvers. They need not meet the Intelligence requirement to select Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick, and any feat with Improved Dirty Trick as a prerequisite. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation
Explorer: Many gnomes are obsessed with seeing as much of the world as possible. These gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on Climb checks and checks for one Knowledge skill of their choice. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation.
Inquisitive: Gnomes have a knack for being in places they shouldn’t be. Gnomes with this trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Disable Device and Escape Artist checks. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation.
Master Tinker:Gnomes experiment with all manner of mechanical devices. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. They are treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. This racial trait replaces weapon familiarity.
There. That looks like a lot of fun. Oh, before I forget...
BONUS ITEMS!
Bandalore
A bandalore is a weapon consisting of an axle connected to two metal disks, and a length of alchemically treated twine looped around the axle. It is used by holding the free end of the twine (known as the handle) allowing gravity or the force of a throw to spin the bandalore and unwind the twine, allowing the bandalore to wind itself back to one's hand, exploiting its spin.
Light Exotic Weapon; cost 21 gp; Damage 1d3 (S), 1d4 (M); critical x2; range –; weight 1 lbs.; type B; special disarm, performance, reach, trip
Horsehide
A horsehide is a ball featuring a cork center, wrapped in yarn, and covered with two strips of horsehide or cowhide, tightly stitched together. The user simply throws the ball at a target, taking advantage of the speed of the ball to deal damage.
Ranged Martial Weapon; cost 5 gp; Damage 1d4 (S), 1d6 (M); critical x3; range 30 ft.; weight 1 lbs; type B
Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
[[Note: I've transitioned into posting on Thursdays, rather than Mondays.]]
Gnomes are weird. They're a widespread mishmash of concepts depending on what setting we're talking about. Classic D&D gnomes are wild-eyed curiosity seekers. Pathfinder gnomes are the same, but this time it's a genetic draw toward the weird stuff and if you don't delve into it, you die. Or get bleached. Because they're literally fey and the Material Plane is killing them? I don't...whatever. Warcraft gnomes are mechanists and tinkers, building ever more complex tech. I'm not sure where I want to go with them yet.
Step 1: Concept
Small, mischievous, brilliant idiots. That's kind of the best description I can produce for gnomes.
Step 2: Racial Qualities
TYPE - Humanoid (gnome). These guys are going to solidly be from the Material Plane.
SIZE - Small.
SPEED - Slow.
ABILITIES - So, core gnomes get +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength.
The +2 Con is fine. I like it.
The +2 Cha is weird, though. I mean, a short, wild-eyed person with hair dyed seven different vivid colors and spiked up half as tall as they are is going to put people on guard. You never know when a gnome is gonna jump up on a table and start singing about pork chops. No, they definitely aren't getting a Cha bonus. What I want to give them, however, is an Intelligence bonus. They have a strong reputation as inventors and there's that old line about genius and madness, y'know?
As far as the -2 Str, aren't these guys hit hard enough? I mean, they're already dealing a die type lower for damage and their carrying capacity is only 3/4 of what a medium character can carry. Do they really need an additional penalty to Strength? Dress it up as standard modifications for size all you want. If that were true, they'd be getting +2 Dex, -4 Str, -2 Con. No, this is clearly racism. What I like for their racial penaly is -2 Wisdom. Gnomes minds tend to wander and they're just as likely to be distracted by a shiny bug as they are to be by whatever MacGuffin the adventure calls for. They just can't sit still long enough to pay that much attention. They have ADD as a racial quality.
This brings us to +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Looks good to me.
LANGUAGES - I'm a bit torn here. I definitely want to give them Linguist here, but I feel like they'd be more likely to know a smattering of seventeen different languages without being fluent in most of them. We'll still give them Linguist, but we'll find some sort of other ability that plays with language as well.
Step 3: Racial Traits
Alright, let's dive into the deep end here.
Defensive Training (1 RP) - I guess. I think I'm just instinctively shying away from traits like this. What if you never fight a giant? this becomes a wasted trait.
Illusion Resistance (1 RP) - Not these gnomes. These gnomes see pretty lights and off they go.
Keen Senses (2 RP) - Did you guys just see that fox? I'm gonna try to catch it real quick. Be right back.
Obsessive (2 RP) - Maybe? There's gotta be some kind of dilettante option where they get weird bonuses to lots of stuff.
Gnome Magic (2 RP) - Totally. I'm changing the relevant casting stat to Int, though.
Hatred (1 RP) - Meh.
Weapon Familiarity (1 RP) - Sure.
Low-Light Vision (1 RP) - Works for me.
Hrm...let's look at their alternates.
Dirty Trickster (4 RP) - Way cool.
Eternal Hope (2 RP) - I think this fits pretty well. "Come on, guys. We might find a cool leaf over that next hill!"
Explorer (4 RP) - This works. I might swap the Knowledge for Swim, though.
Gift of Tongues (2 RP) - I love it.
Inquisitive (4 RP) - Also cool.
Master Tinker (2 RP) - There are a lot of neat abilities here. We're probably gonna have more alternates for gnomes than anyone yet.
Utilitarian Magic (2 RP) - I think I like this better than Gnome Magic.
Vivacious (4 RP) - I like the idea of the gnome being ready to go hours before everyone else.
Whew. Lots there. Also, I want to pull Reflexive Improvisation (4 RP) from half-elves because I think it fits super well with gnomes and I don't know what I'm going to do about crossbreeds. I still need that linguistic dilettante ability. Something along the lines of...
Pidgin Tongue: Gnomes can use Linguistics untrained to attempt to understand or convey simple messages with another character without sharing a common language. The DC of this check is 15. If you are successful, you infer or convey a rough understanding of what is being said. If your check fails by 5 or more, you infer or convey the wrong message.
That's gotta be around the same cost as a skill bonus, right? 2 RP sounds good to me.
Alright, let's see what we have.
GNOME
Type - Humanoid (gnome) 0 RP
Size - Small 0 RP
Base Speed - Slow -1 RP
Ability Score Modifiers - Standard (+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom) 0 RP
Languages - Linguist 1 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Eternal Hope 2 RP
Vivacious 4 RP
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Explorer 4 RP
Gift of Tongues 2 RP
Inquisitive 4 RP
Keen Senses 2 RP
Master Tinker 2 RP
Pidgin Tongue 2 RP
Reflexive Improvisation 4 RP
Magical Racial Traits
Utilitarian Magic 2 RP
Offense Racial Traits
Dirty Trickster 4 RP
Weapon Familiarity 2 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision 1 RP
So much stuff. That brings us to 34 RP. More than double what we're shooting for. Okay, time to look for cuts. I definitely want to keep Reflexive Improvisation and Pidgin Tongue. Let's drop Gift of Tongues. We'll bump Master Tinker up to a +2 bonus and make it an alternate, along with Dirty Trickster, Explorer, and Inquisitive. Vivacious is neat, but we can drop it. That brings us to 14. I don't want to give them darkvision, so let's add in a couple weird weapons to their weapon familiarity to bring us up to 15.
Let's finalize the little buggers.
Gnome Standard Racial Traits
Ability Score Racial Traits: Gnomes are hardy and inquisitive, but often lack the good sense to leave things alone. They gain +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, and -2 Wisdom.
Type: Gnomes are Humanoid creatures with the gnome subtype.
Size: Gnomes are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Base Speed: (Slow Speed) Gnomes have a base speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Gnomes begin play speaking Common and Gnome. Gnomes with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
Defense Racial Traits
Eternal Hope:Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects. Once per day, after rolling a 1 on a d20, the gnome may reroll and use the second result.
Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Keen Senses: Gnomes receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
Pidgin Tongue: Gnomes can use Linguistics untrained to attempt to understand or convey simple messages with another character without sharing a common language. The DC of this check is 15. If you are successful, you infer or convey a rough understanding of what is being said. If your check fails by 5 or more, you infer or convey the wrong message.
Reflexive Improvisation: Gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on untrained skill checks.
Magical Racial Traits
Gnome Magic:Gnomes add 1 to the DC of any saving throws against transmutation spells they cast. If their Intelligence score is 11 or higher, they also gain the following spell-like abilities 1/day—mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, and unseen servant. The DC for these spells is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the gnome’s Intelligence modifier.
Offense Racial Traits
Weapon Familiarity:Gnomes are proficient with bandalores, flailpoles, and horsehides, and treat any weapon with the word “gnome” in its name as a martial weapon.
Senses Racial Traits
Low-Light Vision:Gnomes can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Alternate Racial Traits
Dirty Trickster:All gnomes love pranks, but some specialize in those improvised during battle. These gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on dirty trick combat maneuvers. They need not meet the Intelligence requirement to select Combat Expertise, Improved Dirty Trick, and any feat with Improved Dirty Trick as a prerequisite. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation
Explorer: Many gnomes are obsessed with seeing as much of the world as possible. These gnomes gain a +2 racial bonus on Climb checks and checks for one Knowledge skill of their choice. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation.
Inquisitive: Gnomes have a knack for being in places they shouldn’t be. Gnomes with this trait gain a +2 racial bonus on Disable Device and Escape Artist checks. This racial trait replaces reflexive improvisation.
Master Tinker:Gnomes experiment with all manner of mechanical devices. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. They are treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. This racial trait replaces weapon familiarity.
There. That looks like a lot of fun. Oh, before I forget...
BONUS ITEMS!
Bandalore
A bandalore is a weapon consisting of an axle connected to two metal disks, and a length of alchemically treated twine looped around the axle. It is used by holding the free end of the twine (known as the handle) allowing gravity or the force of a throw to spin the bandalore and unwind the twine, allowing the bandalore to wind itself back to one's hand, exploiting its spin.
Light Exotic Weapon; cost 21 gp; Damage 1d3 (S), 1d4 (M); critical x2; range –; weight 1 lbs.; type B; special disarm, performance, reach, trip
Horsehide
A horsehide is a ball featuring a cork center, wrapped in yarn, and covered with two strips of horsehide or cowhide, tightly stitched together. The user simply throws the ball at a target, taking advantage of the speed of the ball to deal damage.
Ranged Martial Weapon; cost 5 gp; Damage 1d4 (S), 1d6 (M); critical x3; range 30 ft.; weight 1 lbs; type B
Let me know what you think.
Until next time.
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