4e Cambions and Alu-fiends

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Otogi's picture
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4e Cambions and Alu-fiends

Cambion Devil-blooded creatures who seek out to lash at the world that rejected them

Racial Traits
Average Height: 5’5”–6’0”
Average Weight: 1259–225 lb.

Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Darkvision
Languages: Common, Supernal

Skill Bonuses: +2 Stealth, +2 Thievery

Silent Steel: You negate the armor check penalty while using the Stealth and Thievery skils

Diabolic Heritage: Because of your fiendish heritage, you are considered to be have the (devil) subtype

Back Ally Skirmisher: When you gain Combat Advantage against an enemy, increase the attack bonus to +4

Unsettling Presence: You can use an encounter power based on your heritage.

Unsettling Presence Cambion racial power
Your fiendish appearance causes a shift in your enemy's moral
Encounter♦ Fear
Minor Action
Target: One creature
Effect: The target takes a -2 to attacks (save ends).

Cambions
are devil-mortal hybrids. Unlike a tiefling, who gain they're power from
pacts made by their ancestors, cambions get their blood from they're
immortal, diabolic fathers. They're also rejected wherever they go when
they're two parenting races are involved. In human communities, they're
loathed. In the hells, they're shunned. For some, adventuring is the
only home they have left.

Otogi's picture
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Alu-fiend Outcasts with

Alu-fiend Outcasts with hatred brimming inside them, they travel the land searching for power and acceptance Racial Traits Average Height: 5’5”–6’0” Average Weight: 115–190 lb.

Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Darkvision

Languages: Common, Supernal

Skill Bonuses: +2 Deplomacy, +2 Bluff

Otherworldly
Charm: Once per day you may declare a reroll when in a
skill challenge that involves the Bluff or Diplomacy skills

Diabolic Heritage: Because of your fiendish heritage, you are considered to be have the (devil) subtype


Telepathy: You gain telepathy out to 10 squares. This increases to 20 squares at 11th level and 30 at 21st level.


Vitality Drain: You can use an encounter power based on your heritage.



Vitality Drain, Alu-Fiend Racial Power



You consume a share of the lifeforce of your foe as he crumbles to the ground.



Encounter



Immediate Reaction, Personal



Effect: When you reduce a foe to 0 hp or less, you can spend a healing
surge and regain additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.


Born
from a devil and a mortal male (usually tricked or unwilling),
Alu-fiends are tempters and power seekers, but it's fair to say that
many simply seek acceptance and to live without being threatened by
zealots and suspicious town-folk. In the hells where they might have
been born, alu-fiends are neglected, so many call the open road of the
prime and the planes home. They are dangerous allies and powerful (if
shady) allies.

Dunamin's picture
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Nice

Nice work!

 

Cambion

Ability bonuses seem appropriate, as do the skill bonus to Stealth. However, I would make the other bonus Perception rather than Thievery, considering the emphasis put on senses by the original PS Monstrous Compendium: “Cambions have keen senses and are never surprised.”

Traditionally, cambions are the offspring of a male tanar’ri (not necessarily an incubi) and female human, so I would change your Diabolic Heritage to Demonic Heritage, use the (demon) subtype, and make similar changes where appropriate.

You should note duration and range of the Unsettling Presence. Making it last until end of your next turn while requiring a Standard Action seems far too weak, but making it last until end of encounter seems well out of bounds for a racial power. I would recommend making it a Minor Action, and provide some additional interesting effect or perhaps make the effect last until the foe hits you. Compare to PH racial powers.

 

Alu-Fiend

The +2 to Cha seems a given but I’d change the second bonus from Dex to Wis. The PS Monstrous Compendium notes that “Alu-fiends have an innate intuition that warns them of impending danger 75% of the time,” and this way you avoid duplicating the halfling’s ability bonuses.

Unlike cambions, alu-fiends are to my knowledge specifically offspring of a succubus and male human, and I would note that they’re exclusively female. Since succubi have become devils in standard 4E I’m not sure which type would be more appropriate to a general user base, but if you’re playing in the traditional Planescape setting like me, I would again change Diabolic to Demonic Heritage and maintain succubi as tanar’ri (of course, this is a matter of personal taste).

Otherworldly Charm is too much, in my opinion – how about providing a reroll instead?

Vitality Drain reads vaguely to me – what does “the first time” apply to? Is it the first time in an encounter? If so, it seems more like a power than a feature. Is it the first time you bring any enemy down? If so, it seems vastly overpowered as the character easily heals up in a fight with minions. I would suggest ditching polymorph, making this trait the racial power, and write something akin to this:

 

Vitality Drain, Alu-Fiend Racial Power

You consume a share of the lifeforce of your foe as he crumbles to the ground.

Encounter

Immediate Reaction, Personal

Effect: When you reduce a foe to 0 hp or less, you can spend a healing surge and regain additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

 

To replace the missing racial feature, how about this: Slow descent: Though your wings are too weak to fly, they can slow down a fall. Use half the falling distance when determining falling damage.

 

Hope you can use any of this feedback!

Bob the Efreet's picture
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Dunamin wrote: You should

Dunamin wrote:

You should note duration and range of the Unsettling Presence. Making it last until end of your next turn while requiring a Standard Action seems far too weak, but making it last until end of encounter seems well out of bounds for a racial power. I would recommend making it a Minor Action, and provide some additional interesting effect or perhaps make the effect last until the foe hits you. Compare to PH racial powers.

 The in-between here is to make it (save ends). Making it a minor action could still be a good idea, as it doesn't deal any damage. As an alternative suggestion, the penalty could be equal to the cambion's Charisma modifier.

 With regards to the cambion's heritage, it is true that traditionally cambions are tanar'ri. However, the cambion is in the 4e MM as a human/devil cross. This seems to bring up something that could be useful for those of us whipping up mechanical bits: make a declaration in the post as to whether this is a Planescape conversion of 4e material (i.e. using the new setting) or a 4e conversion of Planescape material (using the old cosmology).

__________________

Pants of the North!

Otogi's picture
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Updated.

Updated.

Shadow of Torment's picture
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Just to point out, as I did

Just to point out, as I did before at the WoTC boards, if Cambions are the product of any non-Succubus Devil crossbreeding with a human, you should replace the comment about their Succubus/Incubus ancestor for a simply "diabolic ancestor".

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