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[3.5, FR][Animal PCs][Recruiting] Animalia Unbound: Defenders of Cormanthor Wood
Just had a crazy idea. Take a bunch of awakened animals or manimals (template from Green Ronin's Advanced bestiary) and throw 'em together on an adventure. Would this interest anyone?
If people need to look over the manimal template that don't have access to the book, let me know and I'll post it up here.
House Rules for Animalia Unbound
Starting to work up the info on the animals, Here is what I have so far:
Animals
Code:
Baboon ECL +0 Str +4, Dex +4, Con +2, Wis +2
Badger ECL +2 Dex +6, Con +4, Wis +2
Bat ECL +0 Dex +4, Wis +4
Bear, Black ECL +5 Str +8, Dex +2, Con +4, Wis +2
Boar ECL +5 Str +4, Con +6, Wis +2
Camel ECL +4 Str +8, Dex +6, Con +4
Cat ECL +2 Dex +4, Wis +2
Cheetah ECL +5 Str +6, Dex +8, Con +4, Wis +2
Dog ECL +0 Str +2, Dex +6, Con +4, Wis +2
Dog, Riding ECL +3 Str +4, Dex +4, Con +4, Wis +2
Donkey ECL +2 Dex +2, Con +2
Eagle ECL +0 Dex +4, Con +2, Wis +4
Hawk ECL +0 Dex +6, Wis +4
Horse, Heavy ECL +4 Str +6, Dex +2, Con +4, Wis +2
Horse, Light ECL +4 Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4, Wis +2
Warhorse, Light ECL +4 Str +6, Dex +2, Con +6, Wis +2
Hyena ECL +3 Str +4, Dex +4, Con +4, Wis +2
Leopard ECL +5 Str +6, Dex +8, Con +4, Wis+2
Lizard ECL +0 Dex +4, Wis +2
Lizard, Monitor ECL +5 Str +6, Dex +4, Con +6, Wis +2
Monkey ECL +0 Con +4, Wis +2
Mule ECL +4 Dex +6, Wis +2
Owl ECL +0 Dex +6, Wis +4
Pony ECL +2 Str +2, Dex +2, Con +2
Pony, War ECL +2 Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4
Rat ECL +0 Dex +4, Wis +2
Raven ECL +0 Dex +4, Wis +4
Snake, Constrictor ECL +5 Str +6, Dex +6, Con +2, Wis +2
Toad ECL +0 Dex +2, Wis +4
Weasel ECL +0 Dex +4, Wis +2
Wolf ECL +3 Str +2, Dex +4, Con +4, Wis +2
Wolverine ECL +5 Str +4, Dex +4, Con +8, Wis +2
Attribute generation will be 40 point buy.
Animal PCs do not gain their racial ability modifiers, instead they may up their ECLup by +1 for every +4 to their attributes. The bonus to your attributes can not exceed the amount of the bonus listed that the animal would normally be entitled to. For example a Black Bear that increases his ECL by two could gain his full strength bonus.
Animals add their class levels to their ecl to determine their total ecl. An animal pc may not have an ecl of higher than +7 as beginning adventurers.
All animal spellcasters will use the sorcerer variant for material component substitution.
Material Component Substitute
Because sorcerers gain their spells from innate, inborn power, they have no need to worry about material components – they are, in essence, their own material components. Spells with costly material components require a little extra personal power on the sorcerer’s part. She does not need to obtain the material component, but she must instead pay a price in experience points for casting the spell. The sorcerer pays 1/25 of the gold-piece cost of the component in XP (minimum loss of 1 XP). Thus if a sorcerer casts stoneskin, which require 250 gp worth of diamond dust, the sorcerer instead pays 10 XP (250 ÷ 25 = 10). Spells that already require an expenditure of experience points are handled normally. Spell with a focus still require the focus.
I'm drawn to odd character types, so the idea does have a certain appeal for me. I'd be curious to hear more about what you've got in mind for such a campaign. Would the party be made up of atypical animals in an otherwise typical campaign setting or would the setting instead be populated with various animals rather than humanoid species? Is the manimal an anthropomorphic animal template?
I'm drawn to odd character types, so the idea does have a certain appeal for me. I'd be curious to hear more about what you've got in mind for such a campaign. Would the party be made up of atypical animals in an otherwise typical campaign setting or would the setting instead be populated with various animals rather than humanoid species? Is the manimal an anthropomorphic animal template?
The party would be completely made up of [awakened] animals or manimals.
The campaign world would be typical for a campign world, filled with monsters, humanoids, monstrous humanoids, etc.
Yes, the manimal is an anthropomorphic animal, often mistaken for lycanthropes in hybrid form.
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head. It seems to me that it'd be more interesting to play actual animals rather than anthropomorphic ones. The idea being that, once you give an animal a humanoid form and manual dexterity, they become in essence little more than people in fur-suits. In a regular setting they'd also be, as said, little more than lycanthropes stuck in a single form. Just a first thought though; I imagine an entire campaign setting's theme could be woven around such creatures.
Playing actual animals on the other hand, could really help exemplify the differences between the various PCs. A primate (with hands) or raccoon (with their five fingered paws) for instance could be the de-facto tool-user in the party; responsible for picking locks, disarming traps and simple things like opening doors. Other animals lend themselves well to particular class roles. Imagine a wolf or dog or falcon ranger, a leopard or tiger fighter, a badger or bear barbarian, a lion paladin, a songbird bard, a cat sorcerer, a monkey monk, an owl cleric, etc.
One idea that strikes me as interesting would be to have all the PCs be the surviving familiars, bonded mounts and animal companions of a group of adventurers (who either knew each other or who were unassociated with each other) who are now deceased. Perhaps their counterparts were all killed while trying to accomplish some goal and now the animals have chosen to band together to see the mission through. Perhaps all the animals are strangers to each other who've all lost their human companions through unrelated events and now they've chosen to band together because, being neither wholly human or animal, they've got no one else with whom they can identify.
Like I said, they're just thoughts off the top of my head.
Love your input Ambrus, I'll be giving it some major thought.
And you are right about the people in fur-suit aspect, which is why this is a gauging interest thread. I want to know how people would want to proceed before making any major decisions.
I'd like this to be just [awakened] animals, but not sure if everyone would go for that.
Oh, I guess I neglected to answer that amidst all my rambling...
I'm firmly in the 3.5 camp myself (assuming that's what you mean by 3e), simply cause I don't know much about the pathfinder modifications yet. I'm sure they're fine and not terribly dissimilar though if you'd care to use some or all of them though.
Since there already three interested players I'll ask that you shoot me concepts. Don't pick an animal type yet, I still need to look them over and calculate ECL.
If the group doesn'nt get much larger, then I'll bump up starting level/ecl. I'd like to go with the basic animal idea (no manimals) as it has more potential to be more fun and challenging.
It'd be nice to get some rough information on the campaign setting and environment in which we'll likely be adventuring. I mean, if it's going to be an urban campaign in a human city, it'd be best to gravitate towards species and concepts that can easily get by in such a setting; no lions, tigers or bears wandering freely down main street. Divine spell-casters have to choose from the setting's pantheon of gods.
Off the top of my head, without going into particular species, I was thinking of a familiar whose lost its master through some means. With such a background I'd imagine that such a character would be the most well placed to become an arcane caster of some sort; perhaps a warlock.
Okay I have decided the adventure will start off in the wilderness. It will be a generic world using the FR gods.
Here is a little background info.
Recently a magical blast decimated a village in a forest clearing. The blast covered a spread of several miles and the magic permeated the land and and had a side effect on the local flora and fauna: several animals, plants and trees hvae awakened to a new form of cnciousness. They are now free willed creatures having complete control of their desitny. The animals have also benefitted from the infusion of eldritch energy by becoming better in abilities they naturally excel at and are able to speak as humanoids do, conversing in common tongue. A handful of these critter have banded together to protect their forest realm. Other animals have joined in their crusade, having been companions or familiars to their deceased or former masters.
Interesting mechanics you've worked out Reveille. Wow, 40 points; that's a lot. So do animal PCs gain their racial hit dice, skill bonuses and feats normally?
Since we're going with the FR gods, why not simply go ahead and make it a Forgotten Realms campaign. Even if the world's NPCs, history and metaplot aren't directly involved it would at least be helpful, I'd think, to have the Realms' geography and cultures to use as a reference point.
Storywise, was the eldritch blast in the village a destructive explosion or merely a magical emanation? That is, is the village still there or is it a smoking crater? Has the forest around ground zero been completely leveled to the ground? Are all the animals so endowed or only the PCs? Based on the local climate, which animals on your list are native to the area?
I'm curious to hear what others might like to play.
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Formerly Known As Frukathka 
