Ancalagon
Dusty Dragon
Hello
(This is related to this other race http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?481916-5e-Race-Slugmen )
I am struggling with this one because the crabmen have several limitation - they cannot speak, they don't have proper hands, and their social status is very low. Class restrictions may be in order - appart from perhaps warlock, I have a hard time seeing them being able to cast spells...
In the setting the crabmen race *is* their class. This doesn't work in 5e, so I took a crack at it:
Crabmen are the lowest of the low - they are not allowed into the Yellow City unless they are the possession (ie slave) to someone else. They are stoic and resilient and not particularly bright. However, if pushed into battle they can be fierce combatants, protected by their armor and wielding sharp claws. Crabmen can understand spoken language, but their mouths do not allow them to speak "properly". Their language, composed of hisses, clicks and claw motions, is almost impossible to duplicate by humans. Crabmen are true omnivores and can eat almost anything organic
ABILITY SCORES: Crabmen are tough and strong, granting them +2 con, +1 strength
AGE: Crabmen mature around the age of 10, and can live to the ripe old age of 40-50 years old
Size: Crabmen are medium, although some can exceed 300 pounds
Speed: 30 on land or at the bottom of the sea. Swim 15.
Alignment: tend towards Neutral.
TOOLS and CLOTHING: Crabmen do not have fingers and opposable thumbs. They are unable to use most tools, weapons, and armor effectively. They have disadvantage on any dexterity check involving fine manual dexterity.
NATURAL ARMOR Crabmen's natural armor grows thicker as they level up. They start with +3 (13). At level 5 it goes to 14, 15 at 10, 16 at level 15 and 17 at level 20. This natural armor has no dex limitation or disadvantages for stealth.
THE CLAW: Crabmen's left claw is strong and powerful, forming a natural weapon that inflicts 1d10 points of damage. At level 7 this increased to 1d12, at level 14 to 2d8. Alternatively, the left claw can be used as a sort of shield, granting 1 extra point of AC (increased to 2 at level 10). The right claw inflicts 1d4 points of damage if the left claw is used as a shield. This damage increases to 1d6 at level 10. Crabmen do no "dual wield" their claws.
Carrying capacity: Crabmen can carry a lot - their strength is considered 4 points higher when calculating encumbrance. They need however elaborate "packing saddles" type harnesses to do so, and often will require assistance to load themselves up.
Solid: Shoving or triping crabmen is difficult due to their numerous legs. Crabmen have advantage to saves, ability checks or skill checks to resist being shoved or tripped. (Technically speaking, crabmen can't be knocked prone per se but can be flipped on their back, which has the same game effect as being prone, crabmen can turn flip themselves back up).
Survivors: All crabmen have advantage on survival checks
Blindsight and darkvision: Crabmen's senses of smell, feeling tremors in their feet, antennas etc all combine to give crabmen a limited range blindsight of 15 feet, which is very useful when navigating murky waters. The ocean floor is often dark, and crabmen also have darkvision
WATER: Crabmen are amphibious and can breathe under water. Their walk quite well under the sea, but swim slowly with their rarely used tail.
SLOW REGENERATION: Crabmen will grow back severed limbs, although this will take 1d4 months.
(This is related to this other race http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?481916-5e-Race-Slugmen )
I am struggling with this one because the crabmen have several limitation - they cannot speak, they don't have proper hands, and their social status is very low. Class restrictions may be in order - appart from perhaps warlock, I have a hard time seeing them being able to cast spells...
In the setting the crabmen race *is* their class. This doesn't work in 5e, so I took a crack at it:
Crabmen are the lowest of the low - they are not allowed into the Yellow City unless they are the possession (ie slave) to someone else. They are stoic and resilient and not particularly bright. However, if pushed into battle they can be fierce combatants, protected by their armor and wielding sharp claws. Crabmen can understand spoken language, but their mouths do not allow them to speak "properly". Their language, composed of hisses, clicks and claw motions, is almost impossible to duplicate by humans. Crabmen are true omnivores and can eat almost anything organic
ABILITY SCORES: Crabmen are tough and strong, granting them +2 con, +1 strength
AGE: Crabmen mature around the age of 10, and can live to the ripe old age of 40-50 years old
Size: Crabmen are medium, although some can exceed 300 pounds
Speed: 30 on land or at the bottom of the sea. Swim 15.
Alignment: tend towards Neutral.
TOOLS and CLOTHING: Crabmen do not have fingers and opposable thumbs. They are unable to use most tools, weapons, and armor effectively. They have disadvantage on any dexterity check involving fine manual dexterity.
NATURAL ARMOR Crabmen's natural armor grows thicker as they level up. They start with +3 (13). At level 5 it goes to 14, 15 at 10, 16 at level 15 and 17 at level 20. This natural armor has no dex limitation or disadvantages for stealth.
THE CLAW: Crabmen's left claw is strong and powerful, forming a natural weapon that inflicts 1d10 points of damage. At level 7 this increased to 1d12, at level 14 to 2d8. Alternatively, the left claw can be used as a sort of shield, granting 1 extra point of AC (increased to 2 at level 10). The right claw inflicts 1d4 points of damage if the left claw is used as a shield. This damage increases to 1d6 at level 10. Crabmen do no "dual wield" their claws.
Carrying capacity: Crabmen can carry a lot - their strength is considered 4 points higher when calculating encumbrance. They need however elaborate "packing saddles" type harnesses to do so, and often will require assistance to load themselves up.
Solid: Shoving or triping crabmen is difficult due to their numerous legs. Crabmen have advantage to saves, ability checks or skill checks to resist being shoved or tripped. (Technically speaking, crabmen can't be knocked prone per se but can be flipped on their back, which has the same game effect as being prone, crabmen can turn flip themselves back up).
Survivors: All crabmen have advantage on survival checks
Blindsight and darkvision: Crabmen's senses of smell, feeling tremors in their feet, antennas etc all combine to give crabmen a limited range blindsight of 15 feet, which is very useful when navigating murky waters. The ocean floor is often dark, and crabmen also have darkvision
WATER: Crabmen are amphibious and can breathe under water. Their walk quite well under the sea, but swim slowly with their rarely used tail.
SLOW REGENERATION: Crabmen will grow back severed limbs, although this will take 1d4 months.
