green slime said:
I like the ideas, I think they are great.
Even with Elves and Dwarves.
However, I draw the line at gnomes and halflings... I just get that itchy trigger finger feeling when I heard them mentioned.
I think that the Jinn/Gnomes are a perfect fit, really. When you look through the skills- innate magics, alchemy and craft bonuses, illusion aptitude- they're perfect for the curious, mystical little "devils" that they're portrayed as in this setting. These ain't garden gnomes- there are as many good Jinn as evil Jinn, but they're almost universally mischevious, greedy (especially for magic and gems), and tend to "look down" on the larger races in a strange sort of way. They're typically not warlike or malevolent (there aren't enough of them to mount any sizable offensive, and they tend to live in small clans in remote enclaves or deep within large cities), but they're not entirely trustworthy either. As I said in an earlier post, I changed their appearance a bit too- removed their hair and gave them pointed teeth and horns.
The halflings are the only race I'm having a tough time with. I've got Peri, Jinn, Elohim, Hyksos- what in the hell are the halflings? They don't quite fit the Dark Sun-ish cannibal-halfling concept I want- I think I might need something more savage for the role, like primitive Kobolds or Goblins. I'll probably just ditch the halflings altogether. (I'm one of those rare people that loves gnomes and always wants to get rid of the damn halflings. Gnomes are magical- halflings are just short.)
I sort of like the idea of Dwarves being Hebrews; slaves, pyramid builders, "unseen", spat upon, worshipping some odd god nobody can really be bothered to learn anything about; and then the dwarven revolt, led by a charismatic Dwarf, who calls down 7 plagues upon the land, and then flees across a parted river bed...to head for their promised mithral mountain.
Then the PCs see the parallel...
And they all have Barbara Streisand's nose...
Yeah, my players dig the idea too... in fact, the first PC made so far (just last night) is an Elohim Invoker going for the Warmage prestige class (from AEG's War sourcebook). He lives in a little Elohim community in a town in Upper Khem, where the remaining Elohim have long been considered free citizens (ever since they helped defend Khem during the Hyksos invasion). However, these Khemite Elohim aren't entirely trusted by their own people in Elohen- especially ones like this PC, who practices Khemite magic.
