D&D General on chitin, tentacles and wisdom.

[Steampunkette]

It's a separate document by the same designer. Currently in Open Beta but not yet ready for "Real" Release.

But the expanded classes are largely done outside of a few tweaks and grammatical errors, I think. So there shouldn't be a huge problem using them as long as you're ready to adjudicate.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Why not go with something like a half-chuul?

The aboleth once created the chuul to deal with the other primeval races of the worlds, but now these servants are outdated. So the aboleth created their equivalent of the yuan-ti's purebloods: the Chuuling/Chuul Pureblood. Those servant are better equipped to do the aboleths dirty work in a world populated with humanoids.

Stats are the same as the Simic Hybrid from Ravnica.

chuul - Google Search

 

[Tonguez]

what is it with making bugs hive species? naked mole rats are like that but where not so why should smart bug people be that way?
but thank you.

funny you should mention naked mole rats, inspired by mixing their hive trait with the smurfs, the gnomes in my homebrew are a Hive species - gnomes from the same burrow have an empathetic link and can feel where other nearby gnomes are and gain anotion of what they are attempting to achieve. Its this empathic ability to coordinate which allows gnomes to achieve amazing feats of construction despite being of tiny size - gnomes dont work alone, they work as swarms.

The point though is that the hivemind is an alien concept for humans and exploring its implication is a roleplaying challenge.

 

[jayoungr]

what is it with making bugs hive species?

Well, do note that the playable Tosculi are "Hiveless."

 

[Mind of tempest]

Why not go with something like a half-chuul?

The aboleth once created the chuul to deal with the other primeval races of the worlds, but now these servants are outdated. So the aboleth created their equivalent of the yuan-ti's purebloods: the Chuuling/Chuul Pureblood. Those servant are better equipped to do the aboleths dirty work in a world populated with humanoids.

Stats are the same as the Simic Hybrid from Ravnica.

chuul - Google Search

do you want to explain to people how a half chuul came about? no one is coming out of that one looking good.

Well, do note that the playable Tosculi are "Hiveless."

in such a law fashion to indicate that is not the norm, you do not get to have things to pull from as you are a singular outcast also it doesn't let you have societies the player could visit which is important.

funny you should mention naked mole rats, inspired by mixing their hive trait with the smurfs, the gnomes in my homebrew are a Hive species - gnomes from the same burrow have an empathetic link and can feel where other nearby gnomes are and gain anotion of what they are attempting to achieve. Its this empathic ability to coordinate which allows gnomes to achieve amazing feats of construction despite being of tiny size - gnomes dont work alone, they work as swarms.

The point though is that the hivemind is an alien concept for humans and exploring its implication is a roleplaying challenge.

yeah that is difficult to play, also earth hive species do not have a hive mind it is hard to explain how they do it but they all have an individual view.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Late to the party, but…

In an old homebrew, I did an insectoid race based on thei-Kreen, but who were Small, and had aspects of dragonflies and lighting bugs. As such, they were highly maneuverable fliers and could communicate via bioluminescence. While the size & flight might not appeal, the bioluminescence opens some interesting RP and mechanical possibilities.

(Similarly, with communication via chemical markers so common in the arthropods, perhaps THAT could be of use as well.)

Or perhaps, something with a centipede/millipede morphology, as a riff on the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland as a trippy dispenser of wisdom. I could see them as consuming toxic and psychoactive compounds and metabolizing them to actually gain insight into reality. Perhaps like DC’s Swamp Thing, they become more attuned with nature. Or maybe some kind of magical clairvoyance occurs.

*****

On the tentacles front, I seem to recall there was a humanoid being early on in Clive Barker’s Imagica that had long, slender tentacles protruding from its back very much like the Marvel Comics villain, Doctor Octopus.

Or something more amorphous? Something that can project pseudopods. A quasi-humanoid mass of brain cells that physically synapses with (touches) other beings to communicate…

 

[Mind of tempest]

Late to the party, but…

In an old homebrew, I did an insectoid race based on thei-Kreen, but who were Small, and had aspects of dragonflies and lighting bugs. As such, they were highly maneuverable fliers and could communicate via bioluminescence. While the size & flight might not appeal, the bioluminescence opens some interesting RP and mechanical possibilities.

(Similarly, with communication via chemical markers so common in the arthropods, perhaps THAT could be of use as well.)

Or perhaps, something with a centipede/millipede morphology, as a riff on the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland as a trippy dispenser of wisdom. I could see them as consuming toxic and psychoactive compounds and metabolizing them to actually gain insight into reality. Perhaps like DC’s Swamp Thing, they become more attuned with nature. Or maybe some kind of magical clairvoyance occurs.

*****

On the tentacles front, I seem to recall there was a humanoid being early on in Clive Barker’s Imagica that had long, slender tentacles protruding from its back very much like the Marvel Comics villain, Doctor Octopus.

Or something more amorphous? Something that can project pseudopods. A quasi-humanoid mass of brain cells that physically synapses with (touches) other beings to communicate…

it has to be both at once only one will be forged not to separate concepts.

has anyone done much with undead as aside from just evil cults or ebberons ancestor worship, they lack interesting uses and friendly and undeath have not been done yet or at least on a large scale, or is this just dumb?

 

[Tonguez]

it has to be both at once only one will be forged not to separate concepts.

has anyone done much with undead as aside from just evil cults or ebberons ancestor worship, they lack interesting uses and friendly and undeath have not been done yet or at least on a large scale, or is this just dumb?

Besides the Undying theres a few good undead in FR lore - theres the Baelnorm eg Lady Saharel, once a companion and lover of Elminster, who became a good Lich.
I've played a Ghoul PC (he only ate bad people) but really Undead Friendly just comes across as anoher race package, I'm not a fan of positive energy undead and think that good undead should also have the same drawbacks as the evil kinds

 

[Mind of tempest]

Besides the Undying theres a few good undead in FR lore - theres the Baelnorm eg Lady Saharel, once a companion and lover of Elminster, who became a good Lich.
I've played a Ghoul PC (he only ate bad people) but really Undead Friendly just comes across as anoher race package, I'm not a fan of positive energy undead and think that good undead should also have the same drawbacks as the evil kinds

I mean on the large scale and less abominable, I might have some ideas and the pak have not likely had an interesting rip off yet.

 

[Seramus]

in the halfling thread, it became apparent that we lack a real wisdom focused race.

I believe Firbolgs are gaining traction as the Wisdom race.