Minor & Partial Transformations

[Ferret]

I would say in some respect it would need to be a soul thing, or at least over half the body would have to be affected. It really comes down to what you call a dragon.... And we open the whole Definition of Types Discussion.

 

[Verequus]

destrelschwarzschaf@hotmail.com

Thanks!

BTW: What is an 'RC-version' (I am guessing it is a misspelled CR-version but I am not a native English speaker so I am asking just in case it is 'RC-version' and I am not understanding it)?

Soory for the delay, but I haven't been online yesterday. With "RC" I mean "Release Candidate" - a term taken from the software industry, where often a product is put out for testing, which has all the planned features, but isn#t deemed as stable for production purposes. Thus the company/team can fix some bugs, before these create the image of a buggy product (if the software is still bad, this strategy won't help ).

BTW: At what point would you think these minor partial transformations (or implants/transplants) would begin having 'global' effects? By global, I mean that they would begin affecting the body as a whole rather than only the body part (or the use of the body part) in question. What would you rule these 'global' effects to be? For example, a person with the aforementioned draconic heart and adrenal glands could with more transformations/implants at some stage (which I am trying to determine - hence my question) begin to become susceptible to spells that target only dragons...

At this point, those minor transformations aren't minor, obviously. It is a bit difficult to answer, but I would say, with the CR-system determine the CR of an average and entirely normal member of the base species. In the case of a 1-hit die species (like humans), just use the hit die of the type (Humanoids have a d8). Then compare the number to the adjustments made through the transformations. If this second number is greater than the first one, the limit is transgressed. Which type someone actually has, could be not always obvious, especially, if the transformation are from various sources. If Montrous Humanoid isn't suitable, maybe Aberration rears its ugly head.

BTW, from which country are you, Roman? Your email address use some German words - and I am German.

 

[Roman]

I would say in some respect it would need to be a soul thing, or at least over half the body would have to be affected. It really comes down to what you call a dragon.... And we open the whole Definition of Types Discussion.

Yes, I see what you mean - I already have a Types thread going.

 

[Roman]

Soory for the delay, but I haven't been online yesterday. With "RC" I mean "Release Candidate" - a term taken from the software industry, where often a product is put out for testing, which has all the planned features, but isn#t deemed as stable for production purposes. Thus the company/team can fix some bugs, before these create the image of a buggy product (if the software is still bad, this strategy won't help ).

Thanks for the explanation. I am just beginning to look through the file as I write and I love what I see so far!

At this point, those minor transformations aren't minor, obviously.

You have a point, but they are still only parts of the body.

It is a bit difficult to answer, but I would say, with the CR-system determine the CR of an average and entirely normal member of the base species. In the case of a 1-hit die species (like humans), just use the hit die of the type (Humanoids have a d8). Then compare the number to the adjustments made through the transformations. If this second number is greater than the first one, the limit is transgressed. Which type someone actually has, could be not always obvious, especially, if the transformation are from various sources. If Montrous Humanoid isn't suitable, maybe Aberration rears its ugly head.

Yeah, I guess aberration is intended for these kinds of things (assuming we get rid of the monstrous humanoid sub-type). This was one of the reasons I proposed a hierarchical classification system of types in the other thread - you could simply remove the hybrid creature from the finer levels of classification and still use the greater ones if you see what I mean.

If the transformations came from multiple sources than the result could indeed be very interesting!

BTW, from which country are you, Roman? Your email address use some German words - and I am German.

I am from Slovakia, but I do have some German ancestry.

As a somewhat unrelated sidenote that you may be interested in: Germans were invited by the Hungarian king (Slovakia was part of Hungary at the time) to repopulate Slovakia after the Tartar/Mongol invasion in the 13th century killed off a very large portion of the native population. There was a significant German population in Slovakia ever since then and it was periodically bolstered by new arrivals. Many of the mining towns were German or like Banska Stiavnica (one of the most significant gold and silver mining towns in Europe during the middle ages, but significance declined with the discovery of America and importation of Gold from there) had substantial German populations, since Germans were even then renowned as experts in engineering and mining.

Unfortunately, there is a much smaller (though still substantial) German community left in Slovakia now, because just after WWII in a shameful period of our history, many Germans were expelled from what was then Czechoslovakia under laws called 'Benes Decrees'. Most of those people were expelled from the Sudetenland, but some from Slovakia too.

 

[Roman]

Hmm, how about creating a table for possible effects of organ replacements/transformations/transplants/implants (the exact effects would, of course, depend on the nature of the replacements/transformations/transplants/implants, but suggestions may be helpful or inspirational - I list only bonuses, but in the cases of some creatures these can be reversed and equivalent penalties created):-

Adrenal Glands:- replacement changes response to danger - possible gain of rage-like effects (thanks Mayhem!)
Bones or Skeletal Material:- replacement changes resistance to damage and flexibility - possible changes to hit points, possible increases in dexterity or even strength (stronger bones, or more flexible bones, or more pliant joints...)
Hair:- replacement changes resistance to cold - possible increase in the ability to endure cold and possible increase in AC (if the fur is particularly thick)
Kidneys:- replacement changes water retention and resistance to poisons - possible decrease in the need to drink water and possible bonus to second saving throws against poisons (they get flushed out faster)
Lungs:- replacement changes breathing - possible increase in the ability to hold breath, or possible gain of the ability to breathe water, or increased endurance
Muscles:- replacement changes strength - possible bonus to strength, or poossible increase in hit points
Nails:- replacement changes unarmed damage and/or improves ability to climb - possible bonus to climb checks, or bonus to unarmed attack, or bonus to unarmed damage (thanks Terwox!)
Reproductive Organs:- replacements change fertility and ability to conceive, carry a child and give birth - what it says above
Sensory Organs:- replacements change sensitivity of organs - possible gain of the Scent ability, or Low Light Vision, or Dark Vision, or Blindsight, or a bonus to Listen, Spot or Search skills
Skin:- replacements change appearance, camouflage and resistance to damage - possible increase in AC due to natural armour, or possible damage reduction (perhaps only against specific weapon category such as piercing), or possible bonus to hide checks due to camouflage pattern or the ability to change colour and texture
Stomach, Intestines and Other Digestive Organs:- replacement changes food intake and digestion - possible gain of resistance to poisons, or the ability to survive on different types of food depending on source creature, or the ability to survive on less food

Any comments and further suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[Roman]

Liver:- replacement changes reaction to poisons and food storage - possible gain of poison resistance and bonus to saves versus poison, or even immunity against poisons, or the ability to go longer without nutrition, perhaps even ability to go without food altogether

 

[Roman]

Lymphatic System (Nodes, Vessels, Lymph and Spleen):- replacement affects resistance to diseases and poisons (including drugs) - possible gain of bonus to saving throws or in some cases even immunity to diseases and poisons

 

[Roman]

BTW: I would welcome comments on the above including corrections, suggestions for further organs and possible effects of their replacement and any additional possible effects of the replacement of the organs I have already mentioned. Thanks!

 

[Kelleris]

A related effect would be the addition of symbiotes/parasites. I have treated them as a form of treasure in some Far Realms-y game I've run. Could probably classify them as "organs" as above, however, in terms of their effects.

The main thing, I think, is making sure that the things give recognizable bonuses, that can be priced as part of a character's "wealth." For parasites and symbionts I usually use simple enhancement bonuses.

Oh, and I would add central and periphery nervous system to the list. Central grants bonuses to Int and possibly Dex, and insight bonuses on any number of things. Periphery improves reaction time and sensitivity to stimuli.

 

[Roman]

Oh, and I would add central and periphery nervous system to the list. Central grants bonuses to Int and possibly Dex, and insight bonuses on any number of things. Periphery improves reaction time and sensitivity to stimuli.

Hmm, changing the peripheral nervous system improving reaction time and sensitivity to stimuli does make sense, but replacing the central nervous system effectively replaces the creature's personality, memories, thoughts, etc. Of course, the DM could rule that the soul remains attached to the body nonetheless and that it is the soul which retains these functions, so I suppose it could work.

A related effect would be the addition of symbiotes/parasites. I have treated them as a form of treasure in some Far Realms-y game I've run. Could probably classify them as "organs" as above, however, in terms of their effects.

The main thing, I think, is making sure that the things give recognizable bonuses, that can be priced as part of a character's "wealth." For parasites and symbionts I usually use simple enhancement bonuses.

This idea of symbionts is very cool.