D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Dvati Race anyone?

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'm asking around to see if anyone has seen the Dvati race from Dragon Magazine Compendium put into practice, and if so, how did it go?

 

[Greenfield]

I just had a flashback to when I first read the AD&D Fiend Folio: "My God, but the world is crowded with races 'living on the fringes of humanity'!"

Is't the roster of "people" races crowded enough as it is?

 

[krupintupple]

Never actually implemented them, but dividing hit points by two has always made me leery of them. I recall a house rule where each Dvati got their shared con bonus to each twin, making them somewhat more durable. Another problem I have is the whole "wasting away if your twin dies," as if having your character permanently cut in half wasn't bad enough. I'd seriously consider downgrading that penalty into something much less, perhaps like a phobia or taboo association with the manner of death. Besides, there's a lot of story potential revolving around an avenging dvati seeking out its sibling's murderers.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I just had a flashback to when I first read the AD&D Fiend Folio: "My God, but the world is crowded with races 'living on the fringes of humanity'!"

Is't the roster of "people" races crowded enough as it is?

Variety is the Spice of Life!
For my players, there are never enough options. Anything RAW is fair game.

Never actually implemented them, but dividing hit points by two has always made me leery of them. I recall a house rule where each Dvati got their shared con bonus to each twin, making them somewhat more durable. Another problem I have is the whole "wasting away if your twin dies," as if having your character permanently cut in half wasn't bad enough. I'd seriously consider downgrading that penalty into something much less, perhaps like a phobia or taboo association with the manner of death. Besides, there's a lot of story potential revolving around an avenging dvati seeking out its sibling's murderers.

I hear ya about the half-HP thing being leery. Which is why I'm wondering if a Dvati Barbarian or Warblade (d12 HD), or Incarnum user (CON based) would be doable. Wanted to see if anyone's actually made a working one.

 

[emoplato]

Never actually implemented them, but dividing hit points by two has always made me leery of them. I recall a house rule where each Dvati got their shared con bonus to each twin, making them somewhat more durable. Another problem I have is the whole "wasting away if your twin dies," as if having your character permanently cut in half wasn't bad enough. I'd seriously consider downgrading that penalty into something much less, perhaps like a phobia or taboo association with the manner of death. Besides, there's a lot of story potential revolving around an avenging dvati seeking out its sibling's murderers.

That isn't a houserule. "The Dvati twins divide their hit points between them. Each twin in the pair gets half the hit points from his Hit Die roll, although both gain the full benefit of his constitution modifier." (17, Dragon Compendium) So, Rumbletiger's idea of using Incarnum could produce insane results.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

That isn't a houserule. "The Dvati twins divide their hit points between them. Each twin in the pair gets half the hit points from his Hit Die roll, although both gain the full benefit of his constitution modifier." (17, Dragon Compendium) So, Rumbletiger's idea of using Incarnum could produce insane results.

That's what I'm thinking. It appears the drawbacks of Dvati is the lower HP and the fact that, if spellcasting, only one does so essentially. So I figure melee, but then there's the squishiness. So, if there can be Melee with decent HP, it should (Theoretically) be groovy.
And so I'm asking, has anyone made a Dvati that actually works?

 

[kitcik]

That's what I'm thinking. It appears the drawbacks of Dvati is the lower HP and the fact that, if spellcasting, only one does so essentially. So I figure melee, but then there's the squishiness. So, if there can be Melee with decent HP, it should (Theoretically) be groovy.
And so I'm asking, has anyone made a Dvati that actually works?

I don't know anything about Dvati, but wouldn't a druid be good (isn't a druid always good)?

I mean, one could wildshape while the other summons Unicorns for healing.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I don't know anything about Dvati, but wouldn't a druid be good (isn't a druid always good)?

I mean, one could wildshape while the other summons Unicorns for healing.

Dvati is one mind in 2 bodies, resulting in a single character that can do two actions. The drawback is your HP is halved. If one body dies, the other wastes away and dies. So you're extra squishy.

To cast a spell, since you only have one mind between the two bodies, both need to concentrate while one casts the spell. It's like one cast the spell, the other kinda just stands there, maybe moves.

However, both can move to do melee. I'd imagine if they were a Warblade, they'd both likely have to do the same Maneuver in the same round, but It'd be counted as two attacks so twice as much damage. I think.

 

[kitcik]

Dvati is one mind in 2 bodies, resulting in a single character that can do two actions. The drawback is your HP is halved. If one body dies, the other wastes away and dies. So you're extra squishy.

To cast a spell, since you only have one mind between the two bodies, both need to concentrate while one casts the spell. It's like one cast the spell, the other kinda just stands there, maybe moves.

However, both can move to do melee. I'd imagine if they were a Warblade, they'd both likely have to do the same Maneuver in the same round, but It'd be counted as two attacks so twice as much damage. I think.

Might be nice for a decent sneak attack build as you have built-in flanking.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Might be nice for a decent sneak attack build as you have built-in flanking.

Yes! The race gets a +3 Flanking bonus, a +4 Aid another bonus, and a sonic attack when flanking an enemy all as racial abilities. Since each would attack for Sneak Attack damage, this would be yummy.

The trick is to deal with the squishyness. HP=50%HD + CON mod. each body. So the solution is either really high CON mod., or large base HP to begin with. That much investment in the CON stat makes either a very MAD character, or you play something that capitalizes on CON, like Incarnum stuff. Or, you choose a class with a d12 HD like Barbarian or Warblade.
It's too bad Soulborn is sucky because they're d10, CON stat based.