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Homebrewing a race: Gnomeferatu
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<blockquote data-quote="QuietBrowser" data-source="post: 7335450" data-attributes="member: 6855057"><p>So, bit of a backstory behind this; I stumbled across the "Heroes of Hearthstone" tie-in for World of Warcraft fairly recently, and in particular I stumbled across the Warlock minion card "Gnomeferatu" - a vampire gnome. Now, I know that this is supposed to be a "goofier" card, but still, the race idea actually has some interesting potential to it. Gnomish Vampires, creepy little zuggers with permanent rictus grins and cursed to perpetual silence, were a thing in Ravenloft, which was also home to gnomes who had a taste for macabre humor and "gothic" trappings. Then there's the riffing on the old cliche (based on the AD&D rules) that all gnomes everywhere are illusionists; what, then, happened to gnomes who tried dabbling in necromancy?</p><p></p><p>But... I'm not sure what traits to give such a race. So, I came here in hopes that maybe I might find folks willing to talk it out and help me come to some kind of decision.</p><p></p><p>The card, for folks who want to know what set me off on this kick: <a href="https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Gnomeferatu" target="_blank">https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Gnomeferatu</a></p><p></p><p><u>Kneejerk Thoughts:</u></p><p>The biggest problem I'm having is that gnomes have nothing really inherent to their core race; they're Small and they have Advantage on Mental saves vs. magic. That's it. So, I'm going to need to make this up from scratch, I feel.</p><p></p><p>To start with, I envision a "Gnomeferatu" race as basically a gnomish equivalent to 4e's vryloka, or the vampires of Ixalan and Zendikar from Plane Shift: they're not "true" vampires in the D&D sense, so they're much more balanced. Ideally, I want to go for the Svirfneblin route; a good, strongly thematic "base race" that isn't overpowered, but with racial feats that build on its flavor and give it stronger abilities. For example, the Ixalan Vampire has an awesome feat that lets them fly 1/encounter, so I'd definitely like an equivalent feat for Gnomeferatu. Or another example, a Spider Climb ability would be great, whether inherent or feat-locked.</p><p></p><p>Ability score wise... I don't know if +2 Int (homaging the gnome core race) or +2 Cha (representing a vampire's tendency towards more innate magic) is better, but I definitely see them as +1 Strength. After all, what's the good of having some of that vampiric muscle if the stats don't represent it?</p><p></p><p>Gnomes already get Darkvision 60, so maybe bumping it up to 120 feet is fair?</p><p></p><p>The Sunlight Sensitivity weakness is a perfect fit. Maybe with an addendum that you take Disadvantage on Exhaustion checks made whils exposed to sunlight?</p><p></p><p>Blood Drain can be taken from the Ixalan Vampire, so that's an easy fit.</p><p></p><p>Beyond that... well, I'm really hoping to debate that with you good folks. Spell-like abilities? Necrotic Resistance? More esoteric abilities? I really want to talk about this with someone...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="QuietBrowser, post: 7335450, member: 6855057"] So, bit of a backstory behind this; I stumbled across the "Heroes of Hearthstone" tie-in for World of Warcraft fairly recently, and in particular I stumbled across the Warlock minion card "Gnomeferatu" - a vampire gnome. Now, I know that this is supposed to be a "goofier" card, but still, the race idea actually has some interesting potential to it. Gnomish Vampires, creepy little zuggers with permanent rictus grins and cursed to perpetual silence, were a thing in Ravenloft, which was also home to gnomes who had a taste for macabre humor and "gothic" trappings. Then there's the riffing on the old cliche (based on the AD&D rules) that all gnomes everywhere are illusionists; what, then, happened to gnomes who tried dabbling in necromancy? But... I'm not sure what traits to give such a race. So, I came here in hopes that maybe I might find folks willing to talk it out and help me come to some kind of decision. The card, for folks who want to know what set me off on this kick: [url]https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Gnomeferatu[/url] [U]Kneejerk Thoughts:[/U] The biggest problem I'm having is that gnomes have nothing really inherent to their core race; they're Small and they have Advantage on Mental saves vs. magic. That's it. So, I'm going to need to make this up from scratch, I feel. To start with, I envision a "Gnomeferatu" race as basically a gnomish equivalent to 4e's vryloka, or the vampires of Ixalan and Zendikar from Plane Shift: they're not "true" vampires in the D&D sense, so they're much more balanced. Ideally, I want to go for the Svirfneblin route; a good, strongly thematic "base race" that isn't overpowered, but with racial feats that build on its flavor and give it stronger abilities. For example, the Ixalan Vampire has an awesome feat that lets them fly 1/encounter, so I'd definitely like an equivalent feat for Gnomeferatu. Or another example, a Spider Climb ability would be great, whether inherent or feat-locked. Ability score wise... I don't know if +2 Int (homaging the gnome core race) or +2 Cha (representing a vampire's tendency towards more innate magic) is better, but I definitely see them as +1 Strength. After all, what's the good of having some of that vampiric muscle if the stats don't represent it? Gnomes already get Darkvision 60, so maybe bumping it up to 120 feet is fair? The Sunlight Sensitivity weakness is a perfect fit. Maybe with an addendum that you take Disadvantage on Exhaustion checks made whils exposed to sunlight? Blood Drain can be taken from the Ixalan Vampire, so that's an easy fit. Beyond that... well, I'm really hoping to debate that with you good folks. Spell-like abilities? Necrotic Resistance? More esoteric abilities? I really want to talk about this with someone... [/QUOTE]
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