Fantasy "biotechnology" and other alterations

[DMH]

how genetic are you going?

you could try "taint" as found in Heroes of Horror and other sources.

or magical tattoos.

If you look at the examples so far, I have been avoiding curses and such (Serpent Kingdoms goes in that catagory). Magical tattoos might be, depending on the source and how they manipulate the user. And what gengineering is there in BoEF?

 

[DMH]

For example, a wizard decides to create a minotaur. He's got the magic down solid and can certainly toss on a bull's head to human body, but he's still got a mideval level of understanding of biology. He doesn't understand germ theory, he doesn't know what a cell is much less DNA, and he's not going to get that the human spinal column has hard-wired instinctive reactions that are not going to play nice with a bovine brain.

That is why I think hybridization should be the most powerful form that creates new species. As for powerups, PrRs lead the pack and rightly so- Oathbound is meant to be a overpowered setting.

 

[diaglo]

And what gengineering is there in BoEF?

it goes to the cross species level.

orc-elf offspring or halfling-dwarf or... well a whole bunch. entire chapters devoted to it.

 

[Andor]

For self there are also piles of PrCs that change your type, mostly to outsider, but there's also the Dragon Disciple, Ooze Master, Acolyte of Skin, etc.

I'm actually trying to rough out a class based on this, but it's slow going so far.

 

[DMH]

And then there is the geomancer.

What about races that are devoted to alteration, either themselves or others?

Monsters of the Boundless Blue has the nalthcea
MM IV has the zern
Emerging Forms has the esuqam
Lords of Madness has or mentions aboleths, beholders, illithids, avolakias, ethergaunts, silthilars (new in LOM), fiends, yuan-ti and kaorti


Any others?

 

[thedungeondelver]

Don't forget, there's a lot of AD&D monsters that consist of "mad wizards' experiments" crossbreeding this and that.

If the OP is interested I could pull out examples.

 

[DMH]

If it is a spell, class, race or monster that does the modification, sure. Modified creatures or pumped up characters are not within the theme of this thread.

 

[DMH]

Arise thread! I renamed the thread since it is more general biotech than genetic engineering.

But the reason I am reviving it is to ask a question- how many DMs use domesticated animals that have been magically altered? With all the spellflingers about, one would expect some improvements for both the nobility (falcons, dogs, etc.) and the peasants (livestock). How about plants? Since they are so much easier to propagate than animals (seeds, cuttings, etc.), they have that much more potential to change a world.

How about weaponized plants and animals? A grass that produces toxic pollen could be devastating to farms and boars that can digest cellulose could be a way to drive off elves (via eating everything green).

 

[Ry]

What, no love for Chaositech?

 

[Aus_Snow]

Philip J Reed, of Ronin Arts (and other) fame, posted a free PDF. . . called "Genhancements", I believe. It should be here on EN World, somewhere, still. I'm having trouble tracking it down right now. If I can't, I'll probably have to post it myself, though that wouldn't feel quite right somehow.

It's for d20 Modern+Future, but should translate easily enough, depending on the setting of course.

hth.