advice on creating the Kroot

[guardianfallenangel]

The Kroot are a race that evolves rapidly by eating friend and foe alike. Is there anything anywhere that is similar. Some rule that could apply. I was thinking a system where the character could spend experience to "evolve" gaining special abilities as they went up in level. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tonguez]

Barghest?

For every three suitable corpses a barghest Kroot devours, it gains 1 Hit Die, and its Strength, Constitution, and natural armor increase by +1. Its attack bonus and saves improve as normal for an creature of its Hit Dice, and it gains skill points, feats, and ability score improvements normally.

give it a wide selection of feats to emulate its genetic evolution

 

[guardianfallenangel]

thats a good idea for an npc. i'm thinking though that trying to use them as a pc, that rule could be easily abused, quickly out pacing the other members of the party. thats why i was thinking experience. thanks for the advice though, might be able to use that as a starting point.

 

[Tonguez]

Ah okay.
As I understood 'Kroot' it actually takes a couple of generations for the evolution to occur doesn't it? I thought only the 'chiefs' (head of Kindreds) got the rapid evolution ability (which would make them a PrC or maybe a Paragon) whereas in normal kroot the mutation was latent until passed on to offspring

 

[guardianfallenangel]

after re-reading the wiki entry on kroot, you may be right. the traits might not be displayed in the kroot who does the eating but in the later generations.... hmm....

i just thought it'd be cool to have a race capable of eating a dragon and gaining the ability to breath fire, or fly or any number of creatures to gain a number of various racial traits.

even if it isn't the canonical "kroot" i'm still looking for a way you all think would be balance to work it. i don't want to over balance it to much. make it a cool feature of the race but have it have serious class asociated draw backs. sure, you gain a burrow speed, but now your way behind the rest of the group in xp, do it to much and they way out pace you on levels, if not special abbilities

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

The Illithid Savant PrC from savage species allows you to gain feats, skills, SQs, and SAs from the creatures whom brains you eat.

You could also make a template that allows a creature to gain an attribute once every 3 levels. Say a 1st level "Kroot template" creature could gain a movement speed, DR of up to its con mod, Natural attacks up to D8, etc. At 4th level, it may make a second choice based on past encounters. I think this could keep the kroot around a +1 or 2 CR.

 

[Meeki]

How about something like if the Kroot spends X amount of time eating a corpse of a creature with discernable anatomy equal to or greater than his HD he gains +y enhancement bonus to a physical stat for so long

or

If the Kroot spends X amount of time eating a corpse of a creature with discernable anatomy equal to or greater than his HD he gains fast healing equal to the Kroot's HD for 1 rd / hd of the creature eaten.

or

If the Kroot spends x amount of time eating a corpse of a creature with discernable anatomy equal to or greater than his HD he gains one (EX) ( or (Su)) ability of the creature eaten for x amount of time. To use this ability the Kroot must have the appropriate physical anatomy, i.e. he cannot gain constrict from a snake.

Maybe he doesnt have to eat all the corpse, just some of it. Just an idea.