Born with no arms?

[Piratecat]

An excellent point. The stats for these are provided in the XPH, too. I wouldn't want to lose anything more than the brain, though. You need something to hang your magic items on.

Speaking of which: no two ring slots, no bracer slot, no glove slot, no shield slot. . . armless characters got the shaft.

 

[shilsen]

An excellent point. The stats for these are provided in the XPH, too. I wouldn't want to lose anything more than the brain, though. You need something to hang your magic items on.

Speaking of which: no two ring slots, no bracer slot, no glove slot, no shield slot. . . armless characters got the shaft.

Hey, if Drizzt do'Urden can wear bracers on his legs, so can Bob the Armless Psychopath Wizard (thank you, Dr. Awkward).

 

[Storm Raven]

I wanted to know what the game effects would be. A few people chipped in, while others sidetracked and said the character wasn't viable. So I informed them it was.

If you are certain the character is viable you've already decided (somewhat bizzarely) that the in-game effects of having no arms is minimal, as opposed to a more sane version like this:

No use of any items requiring hands while standing, such as weapons, wands, or other items, and a substantial penalty for trying to use them with your feet if you sit down or lie down. No bracers, gloves, or rings. No spells requring somatic components (better get yourself the Still Spell feat). A -8 (more likely -16) penalty to grappling checks. Probably a penalty to AC (no using your arms to defend your vital organs), and a pretty stiff penalty to all skills requring upper body coordination, such as Balance, Tumble, Jump, Climb, Ride and so on. And that's just the start of the problems an armless character will have.

 

[rkanodia]

Just give him a level or two of the Magic User class from A Portable Hole Full of Beer and he'll be fine.

 

[Squire James]

The simple fact is that, until modern times, people with severe disabilities weren't allowed to live all that often. That NPC will need to be something special to live to make level 10, and normally this means there's a compelling reason for him to be around BEFORE he got any experience.

My 2 best guesses is that (1) he's a noble of some sort, or (2) he has a unique talent that has brought him under noble (or perhaps royal) protection. I doubt he would have much physical combat ability (though anything's possible, I suppose). Perhaps he is a spellcaster who prepares everything with Still Spell.

 

[Sejs]

Speaking of which: no two ring slots, no bracer slot, no glove slot, no shield slot. . . armless characters got the shaft.

What, you're saying that you wouldn't give the character two toe-ring slots, an anklet slot, a socks slot, and a shin-guard slot to compensate? PC, you're so close-minded.

 

[Piratecat]

Sorry, I can't hear you. I have a +5 bohemian earspoon stuck into my "ear" slot.

 

[strongbow]

A lot of DMs I know, myself included, would let earrings and noserings take the place of hand rings. As far as game effects go, Rule 0 and DM discretion. With such a wide-open disability, it is too difficult to set penalties, such as whether a -4 or -16 would be the appropriate number for grapple checks, etc.

I have not seen anyone stating that the character should be able to take 10 on Balance checks, but this fits regardless of any penalties to Balance that may apply. The character has had to balance on one foot for so long that taking 10 in a stressful or distracting situation would be a natural ability for him.

And I agree that he gives a whole new meaning to 'unarmed combat'...

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

"No use of any items requiring hands while standing, such as weapons, wands, or other items, and a substantial penalty for trying to use them with your feet if you sit down or lie down." Check. That's what Mage Hand and Telekinesis is for.

"No bracers, gloves, or rings." Check (although he does have the magic necklace that let's you put a ring on it).

"No spells requiring somatic components ." Check (he's got a custom feat to compensate).

As for skill & grappling checks, that's what I'm mostly interested in. Most of the physical stuff isn't all that important b/c he'll rely on magic to do it, otherwise I just assume he's going to be in tough.

As for the people going on about how he'd never survive until 10th-lvl. HELLO!?! This is a fantasy world!!! How about using some imagination? If a 3-foot tall peck halfling can survive in a world of dragons and beholders, there's no reason why an armless human can't. Sure his odds may be worse, but it's most definitely still possible.

 

[The Souljourner]

Skill Checks -
Autofail: Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand (heh)
-16: Balance, Survival, Swim, Tumble
Anything not listed above that is affected by an armor check penalty gets a -8.

Grapple, Bullrush, Trip: -16

I'd let you off with no AC penalty, though it might not be unreasonable, since you wouldn't be able to dodge as well if you have to worry about falling over.

Also, getting up from prone would be two full round actions that provokes attacks of opportunity on both rounds.

Oh, and I definitely wouldn't let you use magic to wield magic items (such as wands). Otherwise everyone would be using mage hand to shoot people in the back with a wand of lightning bolt.

-The Souljourner