Help with Underdark Refugee Race

[Sigurd]

The Sweepers

A city in my campaign is approached by an underdark race for sanctuary. They are a small race that doesn't really excel at fighting. They have an exceptional sense of community and survival. A prophet from amongst their ranks has said that they will end up slaves if they do not find haven in the cities of the Humans.

They are sort of Goblin Gnomes with an extra dose of frog thrown in. I imagine they are well suited to living underground so they are seeking to work in human sewers and indoors. They are pacifists but to have survived in the underdarrk I want them to be very tough - just not particularly offensive.


This is what I have so far. Any help would be appreciated. They should be ecl 0 (even -1) when finished.





Sweeper

-2 Strength +3 Constitution, +1wisdom, -1Intelligence, -2Charisma

Small: As a Small creature, Sweepers gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

Sweeper base land speed is 20 feet.

+4 racial bonus on all Balance checks. They also have a +4 racial bonus on all Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. Sweepers use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb checks.

Keen Vision (Ex): Sweepers have low-light vision that allows them see twice as far as a human can in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of low illumination. They also have darkvision out to 60 feet.

Swampland Stride (Ex): Sweepers move through swamp and marshes without any penalty to their Speed.

+4 Racial bonus to move Silently Checks

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.

+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.

+2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
Befriend Vermin

Automatic Languages: Common and Underdark Common. Bonus Languages: Any one living language.

Highly resistant to poisons and sickness +3 racial bonus to all fort checks

Spell-Like Abilities: Antiseptic spittle. Sweepers have evolved a very complex spittle that grants a +2 circumstance bonus for disease and infection checks.
A sweeper can mark territory with his spittle much like a wolf.

Sweepers gain the toughness feat for free at first level.

Favored Class: Druid or healer.

 

[moritheil]

Goblin frog gnomes? Kuo-toa?

I don't really see low-light vision AND darkvision; it's not really done. Especially for an Underdark race - what do they need low-light for?

Odd-numbered bonuses will trigger a rant by one of the point-buy balancing crowd, but as I'm not one of them, I'll let it wait for them to handle it.

If you want to emphasize "noncombatant, but survivor, and without forceful personalities" make them -4 str +6 con -4 cha. That'll keep them "very tough."

Small, speed, and +4 balance, totally fine. Taking 10 on Climb, now that's the equivalent of a high level rogue trick, isn't it? That's going to hurt if you want to keep this LA+0. Why not just give them +4 to climb as well?

+4, +1, +4, +2, +3, +2 . . . I don't see what you're trying to do with all these random bonuses. Try just throwing more into one or two stats instead of giving all these bonuses to specific checks which are going to be annoying to remember when played. Heck, with the +6 con I suggested as above, you can take out all the poison and disease bonuses, and you won't need to give them Toughness free either.

The Sweepers

A city in my campaign is approached by an underdark race for sanctuary. They are a small race that doesn't really excel at fighting. They have an exceptional sense of community and survival. A prophet from amongst their ranks has said that they will end up slaves if they do not find haven in the cities of the Humans.

They are sort of Goblin Gnomes with an extra dose of frog thrown in. I imagine they are well suited to living underground so they are seeking to work in human sewers and indoors. They are pacifists but to have survived in the underdarrk I want them to be very tough - just not particularly offensive.


This is what I have so far. Any help would be appreciated. They should be ecl 0 (even -1) when finished.





Sweeper

-2 Strength +3 Constitution, +1wisdom, -1Intelligence, -2Charisma

Small: As a Small creature, Sweepers gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

Sweeper base land speed is 20 feet.

+4 racial bonus on all Balance checks. They also have a +4 racial bonus on all Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. Sweepers use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb checks.

Keen Vision (Ex): Sweepers have low-light vision that allows them see twice as far as a human can in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of low illumination. They also have darkvision out to 60 feet.

Swampland Stride (Ex): Sweepers move through swamp and marshes without any penalty to their Speed.

+4 Racial bonus to move Silently Checks

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.

+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.

+2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.
Befriend Vermin

Automatic Languages: Common and Underdark Common. Bonus Languages: Any one living language.

Highly resistant to poisons and sickness +3 racial bonus to all fort checks

Spell-Like Abilities: Antiseptic spittle. Sweepers have evolved a very complex spittle that grants a +2 circumstance bonus for disease and infection checks.
A sweeper can mark territory with his spittle much like a wolf.

Sweepers gain the toughness feat for free at first level.

Favored Class: Druid or healer.

 

[erdamon]

I took the svirfnelin and the goblin and attempted to cross them. Then added a bit of evolutionary flavor. Not 100% happy with them yet, but...

Small Humanoid (Goblinoid)
-2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -4 Cha
Base Land Speed: 20'
Darkvision 60', Low-light vision
+2 racial bonus to hide and move silently checks
+1 dodge bonus against all creatures
+1 to all Saving throws
Stench (Ex): When under duress sweepers release a pungent odor. All creatures within 5' of the sweeper must make a DC 14 Fort Save every round or be foreced to retreat. Any creature attempting to ingest the sweeper must make a second DC 18 Fort Save. This abilities does not work on creatures without a sense of smell. Feign Death (Ex): When under duress a sweeper can play dead. Creatures must make a DC 18 Will Save or think that the sweeper is dead and move to another target. Creature with supernatural means of sensing life cannot be fooled such as some undead.
Automatic Languages: Common, Undercommon
Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnome, Orc
Favored Class: Druid

A crossbreed between svirfneblin and goblins created in the drow slave pits. Many sweepers escaped into the underdark to form their own communities. Due to their prolonged captivity at the hands of the vicious drow, sweepers are a cautious race which is generally mistaken for timidness. Sweepers will also generally flee from combat and have developed an amazing abilities to play dead that combined with their natural smell make allow them to escape most natural attackers.

 

[Sigurd]

Wow Great Replies

I really appreciate both your replies.


Sweeper
(Ishwar-reetoo)
With special thanks to Erdamon & Moritheil

Small Humanoid (Goblinoid)
-2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Int, -4 Cha
Base Land Speed: 20'
Darkvision 60', Low-light vision
+2 racial bonus to hide and move silently checks
+1 dodge bonus against all creatures
+1 to all Saving throws

Automatic Languages: Common, Undercommon
Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnome, Orc
Favored Class: Druid

The lowest of the low

A crossbreed between svirfneblin and goblins created in the drow slave pits, sweepers were bred to resist the most disgusting and destructive tasks of the underdark. Beaten to contrition and driven to a life of torment and servitude they were propagated as a slave race in isolated pockets of drow lands.

The gift of Stench

In the depths of their degradation Sweepers were visited with a dream. A benign force told them that they would be delivered from their bonds by a terrible plague. After the dream, they awoke to find their bodies covered in pustules. The drow that tended them grew sick. Sweepers appeared dead or dying. They were told to move the bodies of their fallen into the lands of Drow enemies and never return.

Most of the sweepers who fled the drow recovered and formed small communities or families of wandering exiles. Due to their prolonged captivity sweepers are very cautious, even timid, but their delivery has made them fierce believers in dreams and prophesy. Sweepers will generally flee from combat or play dead using their feign death ability but a sweeper acting on dream instructions might do anything.

Amongst themselves they have a surprisingly positive outlook on life. They call themselves the Ishwar-reetoo, the forgotten redeemed. Sleep holds a mystic fascination for them. Many of their leaders are mystics who interpret important dreams.

Stench (Ex): When under duress sweepers can release a pungent odor. All creatures within 5' of the sweeper must make a DC 14 Fort Save every round or be forced to retreat. Any creature attempting to ingest the sweeper must make a second DC 18 Fort Save. This abilities does not work on creatures without a sense of smell.

Feign Death (Ex): When under duress a sweeper can play dead. Creatures must make a DC 18 Will Save or think that the sweeper is dead and move to another target. Creature with supernatural means of sensing life cannot be fooled such as some undead.



Its not yet finished but Its miles ahead of the beginning, Thanks!

 

[Corvidae]

If you use psionics in your campaign you could easily make them psionic. That would explain their supernatural dream, and if you used them with certain psionic abilities like camoflauge and psychometabilism, you could make them very tough to fight, but not much of a threat in combat. This combined with their natural inclination to be submissive would mean that they are the forgotten of the underdark, hard to conquer, but not conquering.

If you did use this version, it would probably be good to have them bred by mind flayers due to their psionics.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Sigurd]

If you use psionics in your campaign you could easily make them psionic. That would explain their supernatural dream, and if you used them with certain psionic abilities like camoflauge and psychometabilism, you could make them very tough to fight, but not much of a threat in combat. This combined with their natural inclination to be submissive would mean that they are the forgotten of the underdark, hard to conquer, but not conquering.

I am not really too concerned with where they came from except to think that they were from the underdark and now looking for a niche. The psionic angle would be a very reasonable thing for a portion of them in games heavy on psionic.

ie

Ishwar-daevi

Corvidae feel free to create a psionic off shoot (I would have called them Corvidae but Corvids are too recognizable )


More interesting for me is the possiblity that some force took pity on them as a tremendously downtrodden peoples. The sweepers united around that help and cling to that unity. I imagine a yet unformed religeon in the souls of a yet unformed people. Goblinoids have most of the basic traits for an interesting people but I don't want egg layers like kobolds. There has to be a chance at a family unit in the species. The 'humanity' of the redeemed is the paradox to Goblins as a universally reviled creature. As long as they are mostly benevolent, vaguely repugnant to humans, mystic and secure in the dark (so they are not going away) then they are an interesting addition to my game world.

After all if they had a dream that came true what else do they know?

For that reason my preference is that the dream not be psionic because it lacks universiality. Most psionic games have room for gods but not vice versa. The option above I want as the primary version (In part because you can still have interesting chars with those stats) but other variations are of course open to interpretation. They are a people who cleaned up the dangerous messes after all. Just dont mess with the one dream that they all shared.


S

 

[Corvidae]

I will post stats later, but as of right now I do have an idea.

The dremlings are an offshoot of sweepers that began to explore the power of dreams, and especially of the one dream. As they delved deaper, they realized that they could share dreams, and even begin to influence life through the power of their dreams.

Dremling magic is like a cross between traditional magic and psionics. The gods took pity on these redeemed who although they were downtrodden, were strong and endured it all without complaint. The gods decided to offer aid to the sweepers, but few could convince their clerics that the sweepers were chosen to be included totally. Because of the prejudice, the gods began to communicate with the sweepers themselves. This was the origin of the dream, and through the dream, the gods communicated themselves. The dremlings began to explore the dream and discovered that many gods in fact supported the sweepers, who being a created race, were without their own gods.

Dremlings are a secretive offshoot of the sweepers who have begun to explore the gray area between dream and reality, and through this twilight, they use divine magic, although some that they view as divine magic actually comes from their own innate strength.

I hope you enjoy
John

 

[Corvidae]

Hey, what would you think of having a partially illusionary "dream guide" that could guide the race of sweepers. It would be similar to a smart familiar, but hard to hit, and could adopt one or two illusionary forms that would work like shadow conjuration, the illusions are partially real, and as the dream guide gains levels the forms it takes become more real. This could be a way that the "dream" is made manifest and would make the sweepers truly unique, especially if the dream guide was invisible to all but the sweepers. It would be a way that the relegion is trying to manifest, like very minor aspects of the sweeper gods.

let me know what you think.

 

[Sigurd]

I want to be careful not to tell too much

I think the art of this is not to indulge yourself too entirely. I want an evocative beginning and a space where a DM says "that will solve this problem if....". D&D has too many completed stories for my taste.

They were slaves. They were very badly treated in the pits of the world. They were made free with a promise in their dreams. They flee the pits with the knowledge and abilities they found there.

Some woke up from the plague to try to escape to the surface. Some woke up Psichic and psionic. None woke up as superman. None woke up to seek vengence right away. All of them woke up with a dream, an identity. They are just trying to get out of the hurt. They are a young race with a painful past. I'm not eager to chart their day as yet.

Its sort of Anti-Dune - not one powerful sleeper but a thousand lesser ones.

If they show up in your world tell me what they did and why? I think the rest of the story needs players to influence it.

Sigurd