Beautiful and Ugly needing refinement

[Turanil]

These feats for you to comment and criticize! Thanks.

First of all, these feats assume that Charisma does not represent actual "comeliness". Even if charisma represents physical attractiveness, here (IMC) it is not due to the character's physical traits; rather a high charisma would represent a natural charm and seduction ability.

So, IMC Comeliness is not Charisma and further doesn't get its own ability score. Looking attractive or not is before all in the eyes of the onlooker. As such, by default PCs and NPCs are assumed to have an average appearance, that some may find pretty while other won't. To be notably beautiful or ugly (with actual effects on others), one needs to take the relevant feats :

BEAUTIFUL
[General]
-- Prerequisite: not have the Ugly feat.
-- The character has perfect physical traits for his/her race and gender. Most people tend to be favorably inclined toward a beautiful character, and those who may have a sexual interest in his/her race and gender (which generally include, but is not limited to, most people of the same race and opposite gender) tend to feel attracted to him/her. This will translate into the character getting a +2 bonus to all his/her charisma checks, increasing to +4 when romance or lust is involved. However, being beautiful also has some disadvantages in that criminals and psychopaths too, will feel attracted to the beautiful character, and may thus become an annoyance or even a danger. Then, a beautiful character is more easily noticed (+2 to others' Spot/Search checks when in a crowd), which may be useful or hindering depending on the circumstances.
-- This feat must be taken at character creation. It could be taken later only if this is justified by a supernatural event (as with the character using a Wish spell to become beautiful). This feat does not longer apply when the character reaches old age.

UGLY
[General]
-- Prerequisite: not have the Ugly feat.
-- The character has hideous physical traits. Most people tend to be unfavorably inclined toward an ugly character, and those who may have a sexual interest in his/her race and gender (which generally include, but is not limited to, most people of the same race and opposite gender) tend to feel repelled by him/her. This will translate into the character getting a -2 penalty to all his/her charisma checks, increasing to -6 when romance and lust is involved. However, there is a slight advantage in the latter in that the ugly character is not likely to ever be victim of a rape. Then, an ugly character is more easily noticed (+2 to others' Spot/Search checks when in a crowd), which may be useful or hindering depending on the circumstances. On the other hand an ugly character gets a +4 bonus on all his/her Intimidate checks. Additionally, in a world rife with evil and superstition, being ugly can sometimes be used to good ends; the character will get a +4 bonus to his Bluff and Disguise checks when masquerading as an orc, demon, vile necromancer, etc.
-- This feat must be taken at character creation. It could be taken later only if this is justified by an appropriate event (as with the character being disfigured by some accident, disease, etc.). When the character reaches old age, he becomes even more ugly; hence his various bonuses and penalties to charisma checks further increase by +1.

 

[Herzog]

I wonder whether the BoEF has something like this....

But, if you're going to introduce these feats, you need to work on 'ugly'.

Right now, it gives penalties where 'Beautiful' gives bonusses, and vice versa.
Since a feat should be a character improvement, and you're giving more bonusses to 'beautiful' than penalties, the same should go for 'ugly'.

Since people generally associate 'ugly' with evil and cruel, you could give bonusses to intimidate and bluff when the character is using 'harsh' methods to coerce someone.

In effect, the character with either the 'ugly' or 'beautiful' feat should get bonusses/penalties when his or her roleplaying creates a situation where here appearance would influence the effect positively or negatively.
(intimidation by a beautiful person may more easily come over as 'untrue')

Herzog

 

[Arkhandus]

BEAUTIFUL
-- Prerequisite: not have the Ugly feat.

This should actually be in the Special line of the feat's description, not a Prerequisite. So it should have no prerequisites; instead, at the end, it should have a Special line that reads "You cannot acquire this feat if you possess the Ugly feat, and you cannot select the Beautiful feat except at your 1st character level. Beautiful may only be taken later if justified by a supernatural event (as with the character using a Wish spell to become beautiful). This feat's effects do not apply when the character is suffering age penalties for old or venerable age, nor when the character appears old or venerable."

This will translate into the character getting a +2 bonus to all his/her charisma checks, increasing to +4 when romance or lust is involved.

Where it mentions charisma checks, it should instead say "Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks" for the sake of clarity and specificity. This would mean it applies on stuff like Diplomacy and checks to determine initial reactions by NPCs, but it would not apply on turn/rebuke undead attempts and such (as turning checks are a special charisma check or somesuch, and should be excluded).

UGLY
-- Prerequisite: not have the Ugly feat.

Similar to the previous feat, except this should be about not having the Beautiful feat. So replace this part with a Special line that reads "You cannot acquire this feat if you possess the Beautiful feat, and you cannot select the Ugly feat except at your 1st character level. Ugly may only be taken later if justified by an appropriate event (as with the character being disfigured by some accident, disease, etc.). This feat's effects become more exaggerated when the character is suffering age penalties for old or venerable age, or when the character appears old or venerable. In that case, the bonuses from this feat improve by 1 point, and the penalties from this feat worsen by 1 point."

This will translate into the character getting a -2 penalty to all his/her charisma checks, increasing to -6 when romance and lust is involved.

This part should say "This will translate into the character suffering a -2 penalty on all Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks, worsening to -6 when romance or lust is involved."

On the other hand an ugly character gets a +4 bonus on all his/her Intimidate checks. Additionally, in a world rife with evil and superstition, being ugly can sometimes be used to good ends; the character will get a +4 bonus to his Bluff and Disguise checks when masquerading as an orc, demon, vile necromancer, etc.

This section should be changed, at the end of the first sentence, to "Intimidate checks, which supersedes the penalty noted earlier." And then the second sentence should end with "orc, demon, vile necromancer, etc., which also supersedes the penalty noted earlier."

I would also add a bit more benefit to the Ugly feat, since it's generally more detrimental than useful (which would be rather pointless for a feat the character has to 'purchase' with a feat slot). I would add a line that says "Lastly, since you've endured the scorn and revulsion of others for some time, you've hardened your resolve, which earns you a +1 bonus on Will saving throws. This bonus is doubled against fear effects, and that +2 against fear effects carries over to the DC of Intimidate checks against you."

That last part is just clarification really; the Intimidate skill's description says that any bonuses against fear effects also apply to the DC for other people trying to Intimidate you, but I don't think everyone notices/remembers that bit.

 

[Darklone]

I don't see how being beautiful should affect turn undead checks.

 

[Nifft]

I don't see how being beautiful should affect turn undead checks.

Perhaps the opposite should be true: "Dayum, I want a piece of that brains!"

Cheers, -- N

 

[RangerWickett]

Have you looked at E.N. Armoury - Chainmail Bikinis?

 

[Darklone]

Perhaps the opposite should be true: "Dayum, I want a piece of that brains!"

Maan, Roy[OOTS] must be beautiful

 

[Turanil]

Arkhandus thanks for your suggestions, that I will use!

 

[Nifft]

Maan, Roy[OOTS] must be beautiful

He is the leader of a party.
He has attracted and kept a very cute "monster girlfriend".

I'd say yeah, he's got a high Cha. (Though the scene you're thinking of wasn't an undead, and thus it was his Int that made him delicious.)

-- N

 

[el-remmen]

However, there is a slight advantage in the latter in that the ugly character is not likely to ever be victim of a rape.

You may be going for a more fantasy notion regarding this kind of stuff, but if you want this to reflect real life at all, then physical attractiveness has nothing to do with the likelihood of being raped.