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Player request, Ramna 1/2? Looking for ideas and suggestions
In my group I am most often the DM, and in preparation for my latest campaign I had a player come to me with an unusual character request. She (yes I said she) want to play a male character that is curse with a "Ramna 1/2" type curse.
For those who don't know Ramna 1/2 is an anime in which the main character, Ramna, is cursed to turn into a girl every time he is drenched in cold water... then back again with hot water. Her idea (the player that is) is to impose a -4 to Str and add +4 to Dex when turning into a girl, aparently to mark the differance of male and female. (And yes we all know that gender in dnd dosn't impose such differances, but this is just the way this curse is suppose to be.)
This would be a curse that can not be removed, or at least is near imposible outside of ordinary means, and would serve as the characters motivation for adventuring. (In other words it is to be more or less pernament)
Now here comes my question...
Since I want this to be unique and unlike the show, I want to make the curse trigger differant. So I am lookinh for ideas for generic trigger to the curse that couls crop up in a normal adventure, or some sort of condition for the changing of form that is differant from cold/hot water.
Man, there was a recent post about Hammerspace, too...weird.
Night/day or something more random? You want something you can control as a DM? Maybe when he gets blood on him instead of water? Something he can control? Maybe every time he eats something? Hmmm, that's actually pretty tough....
Her idea (the player that is) is to impose a -4 to Str and add +4 to Dex when turning into a girl, aparently to mark the differance of male and female.
First. Lul@-4 str.
Secondly! How common a situation? Sneezing is a standby for the genre.
You could try whenever tripped. Or, if changing constantly isn't necessary, whenever made unconscious.
Though really, the water thing was used as cold water is in abundance and hot water requires contrivances to find.
Depending on the makeup of the party... How bout changing to the opposite gender of whoever last touched her/him?
I believe that "lul" is an irritating version of the already irritating "lol".
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D&D, on the whole, doesn't have any rules-based gender bias. Males and females are the same, statistically speaking.
And, honestly, having watched far too much Ranma back in the day - the character there didn't change stats upon changing forms. And definitely not by a whopping 4. In the show, the issues that made it a curse were social and gender-roles based, not mechanical. As a general precept, you don't balance mechanical benefits with role-playing detriments.
The problem with a "curse" like that is it becomes a mechanical element to use for min/max play. Need to cross a chasm? Quick, turn into a girl! Need to fight a strong monster? Quick, turn into a boy! Bascially, it gives the player access to a choice to flex her statistics that the other players don't have.
I would not allow that in my game, without some other hefty element to the curse to balance that flexibility. I'd ask the player if they really cared about the stat-change. Gender change alone I'd have no problem with.
I would not allow that in my game, without some other hefty element to the curse to balance that flexibility.
This is not a thing that the character of the player is suppose to have power over and therefore cannot change at will. It is suppose to be an inconvenance.
I really hope your game isn't 4e cause then that'll open up an old tired thread crap.
Depending on the game you are using you are using, I think she should make two different character sheets that redistributes her physical atributes depending on which "form" she is in instead of doing a +/-X to Strength/Dexterity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umbran
And, honestly, having watched far too much Ranma back in the day - the character there didn't change stats upon changing forms. And definitely not by a whopping 4. In the show, the issues that made it a curse were social and gender-roles based, not mechanical. As a general precept, you don't balance mechanical benefits with role-playing detriments.
TECHNICALLY, there were some differences. It was generally excepted (in some Ranma 1/2 based games, OAVs, and Movies) that Ranma was faster and more agile in his female form then he was in his male form. This often lead to him changing forms during the beginning of some fights when he was wearing down his opponent. Of course, the strengths/weaknesses didn't really matter in the end once special attacks were thrown into the mix.
And there are other differances, like subtracting 5 inches and 35 pounds from hieght and weight. But this would be more of apperance rather than any mechanics.
Whenever it might create a funny situation and entertains the DM
whenever healed
daytime/nighttime
Occurs if a certain preventative measure is not taken (could give a few rounds warning. i.e. you're starting to feel funny better do X by Y or else)
On a completely separate note I'm curious what edition/race/class this character is, because that big a swing on stats can be huge depending on the situation.
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On a completely separate note I'm curious what edition/race/class this character is, because that big a swing on stats can be huge depending on the situation.
3E/human/martial type, maybe a fighter. (not fully decided yet.)
I really hope your game isn't 4e cause then that'll open up an old tired thread crap.
Daily power with other modifications rather than a stat modifications.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umbran
The problem with a "curse" like that is it becomes a mechanical element to use for min/max play. Need to cross a chasm? Quick, turn into a girl! Need to fight a strong monster? Quick, turn into a boy! Bascially, it gives the player access to a choice to flex her statistics that the other players don't have.
If you are going to grant the benefit, you'll definitely need to make the thing that causes the transformation something you can control. Something that the player could not easily abuse to take advantage of the a myriad of situations, like Umbran points out. Something like if they are hit by a critical, or something like that.. Maybe something less combat-oriented so it could happen in social situations.
In a fantasy anime called Ruin Explorers, one of the characters was cursed and whenever she cast a spell she would turn into a mouse (albeit one that could talk). The curse apparently could not be removed, her armor and weapons didn't change with her, and she had pills that allowed her to change back, but they were a limited supply.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umbran
In the show, the issues that made it a curse were social and gender-roles based, not mechanical.
Edit: Relique beat me to it.
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Whenever s/he gets to a new location.
Whenever s/he engages a new monster type in combat.
Um, that's all I've got for now. Sounds to me like it could work just fine. (I once had a couple of players in a GURPS game who both had split personalities, each being the other's squire depending on personality. Much hilarity ensued, although it was rather confusing at times!)
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It depends a little on the group as to whether you can get away with the trigger event being "story/description" or if it should be measurable in game mechanics. With one type of group, they might start to quibble if the trigger event happens and someone doesn't think it could happen at that particular time.
So, having said that, here are a couple ideas off the top of my head that stay in game mechanic terms -- not that story ideas aren't valid (in fact, i tend to prefer them myself, but for the sake of this ...)
*whenever he is healed by any magical means, each instance of healing will switch his gender.
* whenever he takes damage he switches to male, whenever he is healed, he switches to female (or visa versa)
* whenever he has less than one-half his total hit points, he is male, otherwise, he is female (or visa versa)
* anytime he is (within a certain distance) of a particular monster type (undead, goblinoids, etc) then he switches to female. once he is away from them he switches back to male
* anytime he is hit by a certain type of damage (fire, cold, etc) he switches. and another type of damage switches him back
* at some particular time of day (like midnight, or sunrise) he switches gender
* anytime any sort of magic is cast on him (be it a buff, or attack, etc) he switches
* anytime he has a wizard-type spell cast on him (be it friendly or damaging) he switches to male. anytime a cleric-type spell is cast on him (be it friendly or damaging) he switches to female.
* or make it random: every time he wakes up, flip a coin to determine gender
* he switches gender when he touches a magic item
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This is not a thing that the character of the player is suppose to have power over and therefore cannot change at will. It is suppose to be an inconvenance.
Respectfully, I think you underestimate the cleverness of players. Mark my words, if there's such a notable mechanical difference, the player will look for ways to take advantage of it when push comes to shove and they really need to accomplish something. And, being clever, they'll probably find a way.
Umbran's right. considering the nature of D&D abilities and sexual dimorphism (ie, the actual differences in strength and whatever between men and women fade into the granularity and averaging of the system) just have them change gender whenever the curse call for it. No mechanical changes. Just RP ones. Ye olde girdle of opposite gender didn't change anything other then gender, this curse shouldn't either.
Day and night is a classic (and used a number of times in manga/anime). Tying it to the phases of the moon would be interesting as well, especially if the player wants to try and do something serious minded and try and play a sliding scale of masculinity/femininty. Male and overtly masculine when full, female and very feminine when new, and in transition between them as it waxes and wanes. For simplicity's sake, you might want the sexual characteristics to change at the quarters.
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Last edited by Krensky; 2nd July 2009 at 05:18 PM..
Day and night is a classic (and used a number of times in manga/anime). Tying it to the phases of the moon would be interesting as well, especially if the player wants to try and do something serious minded and try and play a sliding scale of masculinity/femininty. Male and overtly masculine when full, female and very feminine when new, and in transition between them as it waxes and wanes. For simplicity's sake, you might want the sexual characteristics to change at the quarters.
A were-woman (or were-man)?
Or how about this one:
Quote:
The macho barbarian with the curse to the dwarf figther: "I just love that cute chainmail-great helm combo you are wearing, Gildrem!" Everyone turns to look at him "Oh sorry, it's that time of the month."
eh? ehhh? ehhhhhh?
*audience boo's Dragonbait*
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And, honestly, having watched far too much Ranma back in the day - the character there didn't change stats upon changing forms. And definitely not by a whopping 4.
You are mistaken.
My wife and I have just finished (just) finished watching the series, and yes - Ranma gets weaker and faster as a female. The show (Ranma himself) made that abundantly clear, actually.
As to 4 being "whopping"? That's subjective, and in any case, not what the OP asked for.
The suggested day/night (or phases of the moon) are pretty good suggestions in place of hot/cold water.
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