D&D 3E/3.5 4E Races to 3.5E

[dnd3dm]

I got a chance to peruse Races & Classes at my local B&N this past Saturday. I came aways very inspired and intrigued by the Dragonborn and Eldarin races.

I wanted to use them now! So I decided to try and write them up in 3.5E rules based on what I had read in R&C and here.

The draft results follow. I'm looking for ECL 0. Please comment, suggest fixes, etc. If anyone else has done this, I'd be curious to see what you came up with.

DRAGONBORN
Dragonborn are warm-blooded reptiles, originally created to serve true dragons. They look similar to lizardfolk, like burly bipedal humanoid dragons, with snouts, sharp teeth, and horns. They have scales of the same colors as true dragons with breath weapons to match, and their young hatch from eggs.
Dragonborn have the following racial characteristics:
• +2 Strength, -2 Dexterity.
• Medium size.
• Humanoid (dragonborn) subtype. Any spell or ability that affects humanoids or dragons affects dragonborn normally. Likewise, dragonborn can use any item, spell, or feat available to dragons as long as they meet all other requirements.
• Dragonborn base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Dragonborn can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dragonborn can function just fine with no light at all.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against spells or effects that cause paralysis.
• Breath weapon: A dragonborn gains an elemental breath weapon at 1st level. The breath weapon is a supernatural ability that is useable 1/day. The character must choose an element from the acid, cold, fire, or electric types, and cannot change the element later. A dragonborn’s breath weapon is a 5-foot wide line with a length of 10 feet plus 5 feet per character level above 1st, to a maximum of 100 feet. If the attack hits, the target takes elemental damage a number of d6 equal to half the breathing dragonborn’s character level, rounded down. For example, at 1st level, a dragonborn would have a breath weapon that causes 1d6 points of damage. At 4th level, the character’s breath weapon would deal 2d6 points of damage, at 6th level the damage would be 3d6, and so on, to a maximum of 10d6 at 20th level. A Reflex save equal to 10 plus half the dragonborn’s hit dice plus the dragonborn’s Constitution modifier may be made by the target for half damage.
• Elemental Resistance: A dragonborn has resistance 5 to the same element as his breath weapon.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Draconic. Bonus languages: Abyssal, Axiomatic, Anarchic, Celestial, Dwarven, Elvin, Gnome, Infernal, Sylvan.
• Favored class: Fighter. A multiclassed dragonborn’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


ELDAR (not Eldarin yet, because those already exist in 3.5E as something else).
Eldar are land-dwelling fey similar to elves. They are descended from extraplanar immigrants from the Faerie realm.
Eldar have the following racial characteristics:
• +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, eldar have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Humanoid (fey) subtype. Eldar are subject to any spell or effect that affects elves.
• Eldar base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An eldar can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Eldar receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the scimitar and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.
• Spell-like abilities: Eldar can use detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, and read magic 1/day each. The ability’s duration is based on the eldar’s character level.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge: Arcana, Concentration, and Spellcraft checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, and Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Celestial, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multiclassed eldar’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

NOTE: Based on the favored class of eldar, I wanted to try changing elves' favored class to ranger, as in 4E.

Thanks!

 

[PeelSeel2]

Awesome! Did you ever do some more?

 

[Greenfield]

I noticed that the Dragonborn's breath weapon is a Line area, but you included the phrase "if it hits".

Is it a Ranged Touch Attack, that needs an attack roll? Is the Reflex save in addition to an attack roll? Or are you carrying 4e thinking regarding area effects over into 3.5?

<tangent>It always seemed strange to me when 4e advocates touted how much faster it was to roll an Attack v Reflex defense than to have targets roll a Reflex save. It seemed to me that, if my area effect encompasses five targets, it's faster to have five people roll a Save at the same time than to have one person make five attack rolls.</tangent>

 

[Drowbane]

<tangent>It always seemed strange to me when 4e advocates touted how much faster it was to roll an Attack v Reflex defense than to have targets roll a Reflex save. It seemed to me that, if my area effect encompasses five targets, it's faster to have five people roll a Save at the same time than to have one person make five attack rolls.</tangent>

It is faster to have each of the Players roll multiple attack rolls than for the DM to roll 20+... in theory.

The OP mentions that Eladrin already exist in 3e. I would point out that Dragonborn also already exist in 3e...

 

[Belzbet]

ELDAR (not Eldarin yet, because those already exist in 3.5E as something else).
Eldar are land-dwelling fey similar to elves. They are descended from extraplanar immigrants from the Faerie realm.
Eldar have the following racial characteristics:
• +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, eldar have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Humanoid (fey) subtype. Eldar are subject to any spell or effect that affects elves.
• Eldar base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An eldar can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Eldar receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the scimitar and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.
• Spell-like abilities: Eldar can use detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, and read magic 1/day each. The ability’s duration is based on the eldar’s character level.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge: Arcana, Concentration, and Spellcraft checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Elven, and Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Celestial, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favored Class: Sorcerer. A multiclassed eldar’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

NOTE: Based on the favored class of eldar, I wanted to try changing elves' favored class to ranger, as in 4E.

Thanks!

I like the Eldar, they are like an elf with a +2 to CHA instead of INT or DEX (almost too much like an elf). The spell like abilities are pretty useless, except mage hand can be handy. A +2 to concentration may come in handy. However, as per the rules a -2 to Con out weighs a +2 to CHA, so I would suggest giving the Eldar something more than what you have given it. Maybe flat out darkvision. Or something like the 4th edition "fey step" ability.

Fey Step: 1/day as an immediate action an Eldar may move 5ft instantaneously, this uses up the Eldars 5ft step for the round even if used during an opponents turn.

 

[Belzbet]

I got a chance to peruse Races & Classes at my local B&N this past Saturday. I came aways very inspired and intrigued by the Dragonborn and Eldarin races.

I wanted to use them now! So I decided to try and write them up in 3.5E rules based on what I had read in R&C and here.

The draft results follow. I'm looking for ECL 0. Please comment, suggest fixes, etc. If anyone else has done this, I'd be curious to see what you came up with.

DRAGONBORN
Dragonborn are warm-blooded reptiles, originally created to serve true dragons. They look similar to lizardfolk, like burly bipedal humanoid dragons, with snouts, sharp teeth, and horns. They have scales of the same colors as true dragons with breath weapons to match, and their young hatch from eggs.
Dragonborn have the following racial characteristics:
• +2 Strength, -2 Dexterity.
• Medium size.
• Humanoid (dragonborn) subtype. Any spell or ability that affects humanoids or dragons affects dragonborn normally. Likewise, dragonborn can use any item, spell, or feat available to dragons as long as they meet all other requirements.
• Dragonborn base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Dragonborn can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dragonborn can function just fine with no light at all.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against spells or effects that cause paralysis.
• Breath weapon: A dragonborn gains an elemental breath weapon at 1st level. The breath weapon is a supernatural ability that is useable 1/day. The character must choose an element from the acid, cold, fire, or electric types, and cannot change the element later. A dragonborn’s breath weapon is a 5-foot wide line with a length of 10 feet plus 5 feet per character level above 1st, to a maximum of 100 feet. If the attack hits, the target takes elemental damage a number of d6 equal to half the breathing dragonborn’s character level, rounded down. For example, at 1st level, a dragonborn would have a breath weapon that causes 1d6 points of damage. At 4th level, the character’s breath weapon would deal 2d6 points of damage, at 6th level the damage would be 3d6, and so on, to a maximum of 10d6 at 20th level. A Reflex save equal to 10 plus half the dragonborn’s hit dice plus the dragonborn’s Constitution modifier may be made by the target for half damage.
• Elemental Resistance: A dragonborn has resistance 5 to the same element as his breath weapon.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Draconic. Bonus languages: Abyssal, Axiomatic, Anarchic, Celestial, Dwarven, Elvin, Gnome, Infernal, Sylvan.
• Favored class: Fighter. A multiclassed dragonborn’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

The Dragon Born is going to need a level adjustment. I would say at MINIMUM a +1 LA (for the resistances, immunitites, darkvision, and breath weapon; some DM's may even want to give a +2 LA, but the breath can only be used once a day, and the resistance is low, so its really up to the DM).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The OP mentions that Eladrin already exist in 3e. I would point out that Dragonborn also already exist in 3e...

A lot of people seemingly gloss over the Dragonborn and Spellscales in Races of the Dragon. (In the case of the Spellscales, I can hardly blame them.) It seems like WotC sold that book mostly on the strength of kobolds as a fleshed-out playable race.