DnDChick, a bit of insight please.

[Limper]

Your so very good at this sort of thing.... and I am not. I posted a similar thread on the 23rd but it seems to have been swallowed by the Conversion Monster.

I'm trying to put together a Kzinti (ala Niven) write up... and to say the least its not going well. I was trying to have them fall in the +2 equivelent level category..... what can you put into an equivelent level? I was trying to put this together as a PC race first then procede to a MM style entry.

This is how I see it...... +2 str and dex -2 con (cats lack stamina and are fragile... comparatively) and -2 wis, +1 Nat armor, spd40, racial skill perks: +2 climb (jump covered by move) +2 spot, +2 listen, natural attacks 2 claws d4 (+str) 1 bite d6 (+1/2str) favored class fighter = +2 ECL..... how far off the beaten trail have I wandered on this? Do I have to include hps and skill points for an ECL race? I see this as a bit beefier than the Tiefling but not so much as the Snerfineblinininin (oh whatever you know deep gnomes). Whats your take?

Opinions are welcome from others....... its just that her write-ups are so darn good, I had to direct the inquiry to her.

 

[DnDChick]

What you have there looks pretty good to me. The best way, overall, to get an idea of ECL is to compare your critter to those already given ECLs on page 22 in the DMG.

Other ECL2 monsters are the Lizardfolk, Gnoll, and Troglodyte. Look at those monsters, and ask yourself, 'is my Kzinti roughly as powerful as them?'

I would say that your Kzinti may be even a little weaker than them...ECL1 at best.

You can also try this (unplaytested) on-line racial ECL calculator:

http://www.rpgcosmos.com/racecalc.cfm

 

[Limper]

Wow... Good and Quick! Thank you for the prompt reply.

I was trying to put them tougher than humanity about half way to Oger.

You'd rate it at +1? I was afraid the Speed 40 would come back to haunt me so I called it +2 (increased mobility can be so tricky to adjucate).

 

[Bloodstone de Troll]

Ahhh the Kzin...

The Kzinti would be quite difficult for conversions to PCs of under ECL +4 or more IMHO. The kzin are MUCH stronger and tougher than humans, they arent just humanoid cats, but more like humanoid Tigers, thus Monstrous Humanoids. I would give them the following base traits:

Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 6, Cha 11. In other words a +8 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con, -4 Wis, Kzin are extremely powerful physically, but lacking in discretion.
>base 4d8 HD, +4 Base attack, and Fort+1, Ref+4, Will+4, and two bonus feats.
>Natural Weapons:2claw and Bite attack (1d4/1d6 respectively) , >Natural armor:+2natural armor,
>Medium-sized.
>Movement rate of 40ft while on two legs and 60ft when on four.
>Low-Light vision.
>Scent.
>Warrior Culture: Kzin are trained from birth to be ruthless predators. This violent upbringing gives kzin a +4 species bonus toIntimidate, Spot, Listen and Spot checks.
>Carnivores: Kzin gain no nourishment from non-meat protiens, preferrably raw. A Kzin who ingests plant matter will take (knowingly or not) immediately takes 1d6 points of Con damage.

The reasons for these traits are the demonstrations of the enormous kzinti physical power, and their lack of self-control (which is why humans have beaten them time and again).

 

[Limper]

Bloodstone: Your interpretation is probably more accurate..... and actually quite good (read as under concideration). I was still trying to get it in a bit lower than +4.

 

[Limper]

Ratified.

 

[Sojourn]

I haven't seen the Kzinti since Dragon #50 and the Star Trek cartoon series. A friend used them in his world, allegedly- they appeared in the house rules but never in the actual game.