Dhampir - New Race for review

Khaalis · Jun 9, 2008

Hi all. I am seeking comments on this second draft of a new 4E Race for a homebrew world. Any comments on balance would be greatly appreciated.

Preface: In the campaign setting that this race is created for, there are a few differences from the core book assumptions.

:1:

There are 2 "planes" - the mortal realm and the Otherworld. The Otherworld is comprised of all the other planes of the D&D Cosmology. Only natives of the otherworld and the most learned of paragons know how to navigate the otherworld to find individual planes such as the Shadowfell or the Feywild.

:2:

Unlike other worlds, vampires in this world are similar to those in the Dresden-verse. They come in a variety of breeds differing physically from breed to breed. In fact they are often considered different genus of a similar species. Vampires are creatures of the Otherworld, more akin to fiendish creatures than the classic awakened undead of other worlds (with the exception of Black Court Vampires which are classic nosferatu). These vampires often meddle in mortal affairs and can even "mate" with mortals. The results of such pairings are Dhampir.

:3:

The world does not use a "Common" language; instead using actual regional languages.

Original content removed and replaced with the updated and fully fleshed out pdf of the two page PHB-style racial writeup, 6 racial feats and 2 racial paragon paths.

Changelog: 07Jul08
* Switched the benefits of the Celerity and Improved Celerity feats.
* Removed the "Striker role" prerequisite from the Vampiretouched paragon path.

New Revision Attached

malcolm_n · Jun 9, 2008

It is very well put together. On a power note, I'd probably need to play it some to see how well the racial power works. If something bloodies you by 1 HP, you're 3 HP up next round and lose your bonuses. It seems swingy. Maybe grant them temporary HP instead (which i don't think removes bloodied)?

Roger · Jun 9, 2008

Looks pretty good; they're a bit stronger than Longtooth Shifters as written. I might be inclined to drop Resilient from them.

Cheers,
Roger

malcolm_n · Jun 9, 2008

Okay, just got my books and found out that fighters get regen at 2nd level when bloodied. So, that said, I'm good with the racial as well.

Khaalis · Jun 10, 2008

malcolm_n said:
It is very well put together. On a power note, I'd probably need to play it some to see how well the racial power works. If something bloodies you by 1 HP, you're 3 HP up next round and lose your bonuses. It seems swingy. Maybe grant them temporary HP instead (which i don't think removes bloodied)?

Well the racial power is basically the same as the Longtooth Shifter, but I switched the +2 to damage to a +1 to attack similar to dragonborn. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same mechanic. Note this power doesn’t automatically trigger when bloodied. It can only be activated once bloodied though. However, I see your point on it being of limited use, but I think that is the point.

Roger said:
Looks pretty good; they're a bit stronger than Longtooth Shifters as written. I might be inclined to drop Resilient from them. Cheers, Roger

I thought of that, but then I looked at the Warforged. In the Monster Manual they get less than they did in their actual race lineup. In the full race lineup they gain the following above their Monster Manual entry.
• +2 Intimidate
• Construct keyword
• You can us attached components and embed¬ded components made for warforged.
• While resting in this low-exer¬tion state, you are fully aware of your surround¬ings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
• Warforged Mind: You gain a +1 racial bonus to your Will defense.
• Improved Warforged Resolve: You may make an immedi¬ate saving throw against one effect that inflicts ongo¬ing damage and can be ended with a save. In addi¬tion, if you are bloodied you regain hit points equal to 3 + one half your level.

To me, this large addition in racial traits says that the Monster Manual entries are bare minimum suggested stats for a race as a PC, not the whole of what they would actually receive if written up as a full PC race. With that in mind, I don’t think Resilience is overpowering.

malcolm_n said:
Okay, just got my books and found out that fighters get regen at 2nd level when bloodied. So, that said, I'm good with the racial as well.

Good call. After seeing this, the important aspect is that it is a “Stance” which lasts the encounter (or 5 minutes), which nullifies the “cancelling itself once not bloodied” aspect. I’ll edit the power to make it a stance keyword. I also think its balanced against the warrior’s ability gaining +1 to hit instead of the CON bonus to regen.

Thanks for the comments.

TimeOut · Jun 10, 2008

Khaalis said:
Good call. After seeing this, the important aspect is that it is a “Stance” which lasts the encounter (or 5 minutes), which nullifies the “cancelling itself once not bloodied” aspect. I’ll edit the power to make it a stance keyword. I also think its balanced against the warrior’s ability gaining +1 to hit instead of the CON bonus to regen.

Thanks for the comments.

Remember that you can have only one Stance active at a time. A new stance cancels the old one.

Stance: A stance power lasts until the end of the encounter, for 5 minutes, or until you use another stance power.

Source: PHB I, page 55

But this is a interesting racial writeup. Very well done!

Khaalis · Jun 10, 2008

TimeOut said:
Remember that you can have only one Stance active at a time. A new stance cancels the old one.

Stance: A stance power lasts until the end of the encounter, for 5 minutes, or until you use another stance power.

Source: PHB I, page 55

But this is a interesting racial writeup. Very vell done!

Thanks for the Kudos.

As for the Stance restriction, this is all the more reason to make it a Stance keyword so that it Won't stack with any other stance like the fighter's utility stance, which would be broken if they could trigger both (which is technically how the Longtooth Shifter is currently written - making a Longtooth Shifter by far a superior fighter choice (gaining regen 4+CON when they activate both).

Khaalis · Jun 11, 2008

After some queries and interest, I compiled and fleshed this race out as a full 5 page PDF with racial feats and 2 racial Paragon Paths. any feedback is welcome. See the first post for the pdf.

Khaalis · Jun 12, 2008

One last bump. I'm looking for simple graphical and basic proofreading scans if anyone is willing. Thanks.

WebWarlock · Jun 12, 2008

Well it looks very cool and it seems to fit well with the other races on my quick read. It would actually fit in my games better than the Dragonborn.

Your PDF is nice too. I might have to roll up a Dhampir Paladin and se how it works out.

Tim