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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5487548" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 225: January 1996part 3/8Caste of characters: We've covered Africa and the orient pretty well. Now it's india's turn, with the first of several articles on this topic. First off, new kits. This is relatively easy to do, thanks to the caste system. Of course, that does mean people might be forced into roles they find impossible to fulfil, but that is the stuff stories are made of. Let's see how much they have to twist reality to get it to fit in a AD&D shaped mould.  Singh can roar like a lion as long as they never cut their hair. Ahh, mythology. That quirk aside, they're your fairly typical martial sorts. Disciplined, reliable, and subject to the orders of their bosses. How much of a disadvantage that'll be is up to the DM. Kshatrya are technically paladins, but the way the caste system is divided up, they're forbidden from personally performing religious duties. This means they sacrifice lay on hands and cure disease, but get the ability to read people's karma, and a reaction bonus. Hmm. I think that definitely pushes them away from a full-on combat role as well. Might not make them popular amongst an adventuring party. Shikari are indian Rangers. They get the ability to slow their bodily functions to feign death, but have a tendency to take on impossible challenges, which leaves them open to DM screwage, or an epic tale, as they choose. Know your DM, in other words.  Swami are wizards who learn from the spirits, although said spirits need rather a lot of persuading, since they don't have a great relationship with them. On the plus side, they don't need a normal spellbook, and can cast spells well beyond the usual range wizards can manage. On the negative side, they don't have a regular spellbook, which means they have the same kinds of compatibility issues as the more out-there variant wizards from the complete sha'ir's handbook, and breaking their focus doubly screws them over. I think their hindrances balance out their benefits adequately. Brahmin are technically right on top of the caste system, but since they're supposed to be detached from worldly concerns, they don't get to enjoy it that much. A little graft, skimming off the money that's meant to go to the temple might take care of that, but then you have the usual problem with losing your powers. D&D just isn't well suited for tales realistic grey-shaded morality, is it. I suppose that's one thing 4e's changes have in in their favour. Thugs go back to the root of the name, strangling for religious reasons and generally being superstitious and cowardly. It's not that they're not adventurer material, after all, going on journeys & killing everyone you meet is a perfect excuse for a bit of excitement in your life. It's just that other players may get tired of all this omen crap and decide to spend time with someone more reliable. Fakirs may appear holy and magical, but they're primarily showmen who make a living from showing off their various tricks. They get the ability to learn spells by just watching them, and pretty much ignore the usual material component requirements, but they also lose a lot of the standard bard powers. Not sure how balanced that is, as both the benefits and penalties are pretty substantial here. Should be interesting to play though. Yogi concentrate on the mind-over-matter thing and get incredible powers and flexibility as a result. Actually, it looks like they're inspired by Dhalsim from SFII as much as anything, with super-stretchiness being their main kit benefit. Their limitations are pretty substantial though. No ability to affect the minds of others, which is a pretty wide restriction for a psionicist, and the usual monastic aeseticism thing, which means they won't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor much. So overall, I think this collection is fairly balanced, maybe erring a bit on the conservative side, but better that than horribly overpowered. They're entirely usable, if a bit odd in places. The Winter Fantasy Convention gets 3 pages of promotion and a pre-registration form. The conventions still have plenty of money to spend on advertising then.</blockquote>

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