Multi-armed races for PCs

[Machiavelli]

That mythical races one sounds absolutely, horribly, terribly breakable. It's a diopsid, basically, only even better and without a level adjustment. -2 Strength? How would that translate into usable game mechanics? Maybe -2 Strength for attacks and checks having anything to do with those arms? Or how about -2 Strength to the character as a whole while using those arms? What about using both small arms for one 2-handed weapon, and both big arms for one 1-handed weapon... would that be -4 and -0, or -2 and -0 to the Strength?

Also, is a character with Multiweapon Fighting and 4 one-handed weapons (2 of them at -1 attack and damage) balanced against a character with Two-Weapon Fighting and 2 one-handed weapons? I really, really don't think so. How about a character who can carry and use at will 4 separate items, one at a time, without any penalty at all, and without the need for Quickdraw or whatnot? Seems like less of a problem, but still a problem indeed.


I'm tempted to come up with a race that would have four useful arms and be what I would call balanced at LA +0, just to see what it would look like...

 

[Rystil Arden]

That mythical races one sounds absolutely, horribly, terribly breakable. It's a diopsid, basically, only even better and without a level adjustment. -2 Strength? How would that translate into usable game mechanics? Maybe -2 Strength for attacks and checks having anything to do with those arms? Or how about -2 Strength to the character as a whole while using those arms? What about using both small arms for one 2-handed weapon, and both big arms for one 1-handed weapon... would that be -4 and -0, or -2 and -0 to the Strength?

Also, is a character with Multiweapon Fighting and 4 one-handed weapons (2 of them at -1 attack and damage) balanced against a character with Two-Weapon Fighting and 2 one-handed weapons? I really, really don't think so. How about a character who can carry and use at will 4 separate items, one at a time, without any penalty at all, and without the need for Quickdraw or whatnot? Seems like less of a problem, but still a problem indeed.


I'm tempted to come up with a race that would have four useful arms and be what I would call balanced at LA +0, just to see what it would look like...

It's not just breakable--it's broken, period. (the Mythic Races one, that is)

 

[Krafen]

I rather like the one in the Dragon Compendium, called the diopsid. It's very insectile, with six limbs and a carapace worth +4 natural AC. Its limbs are divided into two legs, a strong pair of arms, and a weak pair. You could wield 2 greatswords like 2 one-handers, or one greatsword and a shield, with a hand free for something like a wand.
You also get +2 Con, which makes up for the low hitpoints. The race, in my opinion, is well worth a +1 LA.

My favorite idea is to have a diopsid Ranger 4/ Fighter 4/ Barbarian X with the Power Attack, Cleave, Leap Attack [CAdv], Craft Wand, Two-weapon Fighting, and Double Wand Wielder [CArc] feats, as well as a single scythe. Spend 1 round casting Hunter's Mercy (1 charge) and Truestrike (uses 2 charges), then rage and leap attack for a full power attack critical. The trick with this idea is how to progress the feats... I'm working on it.

Hunter's Mercy only works with bows.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There is another insectile race in DCv1...Diopsans or some such. Their secondary arms are, as I recall, not as strong as their primary ones, but still have sufficient strength to allow characters to wield 2 2-handed weapons simultaneously.

There are probably some templates out there as well...

 

[Nazhkandrias]

There are also the Sahuagin from the MM. A minority of Sahuagin have four arms, but they're worth a whopping LA +3. Still, they're cool in an aquatic campaign. Truth be told, I don't think that it's possible to have a four-armed PC without at least an LA +1 rating. Not without MASSIVE ability score penalties and weaknesses, anyway, and that would make the character virtually unplayable. I think that multi-armed beasts are better suited for the job of PC Killer. Sure, it would be cool for your character to run around with four scimitars, but it typically works better on a monster.