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Challenge! Player Race Competition

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Fri, 2005-04-15 21:29
#1
Gerzel
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

I want to start a little friendly competition. The idea is to construct races for player characters that are under +5 ECL. This is a 3rd edition contest. Though, 3.5 entries are welcome too.

This thread will gather entries. Once all the entries are gathered they will be divided by ECL and separate threads will be made for voting and commentary on them. This is just how I'm thinking right now. I'd like a way to vote and poll on which races are most balanced, which are most creative, most useful, and best overall.

Perhaps the Admins might have a suggestion?

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Sat, 2005-04-16 17:07
#2
Gerzel
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

Ok. How about I narrow the field.

I offer a challange to build an easilly playable Player Race version of a beholder. It does not have to be a full powered beholder or exhibit all of the abilities of a beholder.

It must:
A. Be in the basic body shape of a beholder
B. Have some eyestalks
C. Have an antimagic ability from the main eye.
D. Have a bite attack.
E. Fly

I am going to place a limit on the ECL to be at most +5.

Sun, 2005-04-17 02:32
(Reply to #2) #3
Korimyr the Rat
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

Well, it's not beholderkin, but it is something I'd view as a planar race.

--
Kreschk are a rat-like humanoid race that live in the sewers and underground tunnels of sufficiently large cities. They are cunning survivors and skilled scavengers, with a primitive magical streak.

Kreschk

  • +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence. Kreschk are quick and tough, but consider intellectual pursuits a luxury.
  • Humanoid. Kreschk are subject to spells which affect humanoids, such as Charm Person.
  • Kreschk have a base land speed of 40 feet.
  • Low-Light Vision. Kreschk can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, or other poor lighting conditions.
  • +2 racial bonus on Hide, Move Silently, Search, and Survival checks. Kreschk are stealthy and skilled foragers.
  • +2 racial bonus on saves vs. poison and disease. Much like Orcs, Kreschk are hardy and resistant to illness.
  • Natural Attacks: 2 claws, 1d4 primary, 1 bite 1d4 secondary.
  • Claws: +2 racial bonus on Climb checks.
  • Tail: +4 racial bonus on Balance, Tumble, Jump, and Swim checks.
  • Because of their poor interaction ability, Kreschk take a -2 penalty to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
  • Level Adjustment: +1. Kreschk are more powerful than normal characters and advance more slowly.
  • Favored Gestalt: Hexblade/Rogue.

In a non-Gestalt game or a game without access to the Complete series, Kreschk would have a Favored Class of Rogue.

I see Kreschk as living in the outskirts and underground of cities, especially major metropolises like Sigil. They have a primitive magical tradition focusing around hedge magic and curses. Kreschk travel in packs, and live in small tribal groups. They distrust outsiders and often alienate others with their suspicious natures. Kreschk have are often perceived as cowardly, but they are more than capable of bold displays of bravery when they consider it necessary-- such as when one of the few people they trust is endangered, or when their own life is on the line.

I haven't yet hammered out Kreschk naming conventions, but I'm working on it.

[/]
Sun, 2005-04-17 08:25
(Reply to #3) #4
eldersphinx
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

"Gerzel" wrote:
Ok. How about I narrow the field.

I offer a challange to build an easilly playable Player Race version of a beholder. It does not have to be a full powered beholder or exhibit all of the abilities of a beholder.

It must:
A. Be in the basic body shape of a beholder
B. Have some eyestalks
C. Have an antimagic ability from the main eye.
D. Have a bite attack.
E. Fly

I am going to place a limit on the ECL to be at most +5.


Jeez, you aren't thinking small, are you?

The ability to fly alone is likely worth at least a +2 ECL, and antimagic in some form is likely worth +3 or more. (Consider that a simple SR of 5+class level is +1 at least, and true antimagic is a lot more powerful.) Add at-will spell-like abilities from the eyestalks, bite attack, ability mods etcetera, possible racial hit dice, and you're likely looking at +6 to +8 ECL minimum. And this doesn't even take into account the hassles of balancing a race that has no hands!

A beholderkin race might be interesting, but the only way I see of making it playable at ECL of around less than +12 would be to replace its flight with a movement effect similar to Tenser's Floating Disc, limit its antimagic effect to only a few rounds/day (or better yet, replace it with 1 or more uses of Dispel Magic per day), and make the eyestalks very minor. Like on the level of cantrip minor. Mage Hand, Arcane Mark, Light, Open/Close. Possibly something like Acid Splash, and with that you'd have to FEAR the beholderkin rogue.

Sun, 2005-04-17 11:03
(Reply to #4) #5
Gerzel
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

"eldersphinx" wrote:
"Gerzel" wrote:
Ok. How about I narrow the field.

I offer a challange to build an easilly playable Player Race version of a beholder. It does not have to be a full powered beholder or exhibit all of the abilities of a beholder.

It must:
A. Be in the basic body shape of a beholder
B. Have some eyestalks
C. Have an antimagic ability from the main eye.
D. Have a bite attack.
E. Fly

I am going to place a limit on the ECL to be at most +5.


Jeez, you aren't thinking small, are you?

The ability to fly alone is likely worth at least a +2 ECL, and antimagic in some form is likely worth +3 or more. (Consider that a simple SR of 5+class level is +1 at least, and true antimagic is a lot more powerful.) Add at-will spell-like abilities from the eyestalks, bite attack, ability mods etcetera, possible racial hit dice, and you're likely looking at +6 to +8 ECL minimum. And this doesn't even take into account the hassles of balancing a race that has no hands!

A beholderkin race might be interesting, but the only way I see of making it playable at ECL of around less than +12 would be to replace its flight with a movement effect similar to Tenser's Floating Disc, limit its antimagic effect to only a few rounds/day (or better yet, replace it with 1 or more uses of Dispel Magic per day), and make the eyestalks very minor. Like on the level of cantrip minor. Mage Hand, Arcane Mark, Light, Open/Close. Possibly something like Acid Splash, and with that you'd have to FEAR the beholderkin rogue.

Ok mabey I gave too low a level but Fly is not worth +2 ECL, esp at higher levels. It would only at most be worth a +1 and that is with a good combination of speed and rating. Granted it is worth part of an ecl.

A few rounds of antimagic or an effect that hinders magic also would not be worth as much.

How about I say +12 ECL or under?

Wed, 2005-04-20 20:09
(Reply to #5) #6
BERK
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

Hmmm, I have been tinkering with one Idea, but I think I should check before I spend time working on it if its an insanly crap idea.

What about a race of humans that are like regular human in every way but for the fact that they are completly removed from magic.

While this has many great advantages, it has a number of drawbacks too.

the great advantage though, is that they would be treated as if under the effect of antimagic at all times. So the fireball would hit them, and then fizzle away, doing no damage. But their cloths would still catch on fire. And that fire, while started by magic, would be normal fire, so that would do damage.
This would mean that they could never be detected by divination, never be hit with spells, and pretty much hack away the uber mage with little problem.

But the disadvantages:
They could never be magically healed. When you think about it, this is a very bad thing.
They could never be ressurected under any circumstances
Potions are useless.
They could never take any spellcasting class (or maybe they could, but dont gain spells, so while wizards are out, Rangers might still be a possibility)
If a template is added on, they dont gain any spell like abilities or effects deemed as magical.

It could also be said that they could never use wonderous items, artifacts, or magically weapons and armor (or if they did, the magio effects just wouldn't work). But that goes just far enough that you can't really consider them playable as a PC.

So, is this worth exploring? Or is this such an amazingly bad idea that I should just torch it now?

Wed, 2005-04-20 20:50
(Reply to #6) #7
Gerzel
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

"BERK" wrote:

So, is this worth exploring? Or is this such an amazingly bad idea that I should just torch it now?

I don't think you should torch it. However it does need work. For one I wouldn't go so far as to use full antimagic. Try using Spell Resistence and save bonuses for magic effects. For drawbacks look to something like a negative modifier for calculating bonus spells. I would be wary of removing all spellcasting abilities.

Thu, 2005-04-21 06:19
(Reply to #7) #8
Fidrikon
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

As for the SR, how about 10+HD? That should give you a decent amount of SR all the way through against same level CRs, and make you pretty protected against weaker CRs, while still leaving you open to the more powerful ones.

and for an ability, maybe they ( at later levels) can expand their magic resistance so that they can cast a really weak form of antimagic.
Just a thought

Tue, 2005-04-26 06:21
(Reply to #8) #9
GOD
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Challenge! Player Race Competition

First: full blown antimagic, while cool, could completly bypass a lot of challenges a DM puts up.
I remember having to compltely reowrk my campaign when i realized most of the party was psionic.

Second: what about a race that naturally has familiars? That could be intresting.

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