Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Khaalis" data-source="post: 5810513" data-attributes="member: 2167">Personally, while I would like to see Races be significantly mechanically different from one another… I would LOVE to see the separation of Race and Culture.Not every elf lives in the woods and plays with bows. Not every dwarf is born with a battle-axe in hand and has a knack for masonry. Those are cultural adaptations. What about city-born elves or desert dwelling dwarves?  Underdark elves and forest dwarves?Race and Culture should be Separated for all races including Humans, and IMHO, Racial Mechanics should be purely genetic in origin.On STAT Mods:  I believe there can still be some room for stat mods for different races based purely on genetics, but they shouldn’t be a necessity. They should also be more culturally influenced. For instance, elves are simply not born with as much muscle mass as a dwarf, and a dwarf's physical build being stocky, stout and short-legged doesn't make them the most graceful. Yet at the same time, not every Elf or Dwarf is born the same – not all Dwarves are can drink a gallon of ale and still stand and not all Elves are Olympic gymnasts. Additionally, a dwarf who grows up as a stereotypical miner/smith dwarf is going to be physically stronger than a dwarf who grew up the apprentice of the clan priests, but the priest would more intellectual and spiritual.  A stereotypical dwarf may be raucous, stubborn, and fierce of personality, but a dwarf raised in closer proximity to humans might be much more reserved and have a less fiery personality.This leads to the idea what each race should provide some choices in stat mods while still allowing stat mods to show racial proclivity toward certain stats as well as have stat mods come from cultural influence as well.Here is just a very rough and basic idea for how this could be done.DWARF•    Ability Modifier: Gain +4 to Strength or Constitution, but suffer a -2 to Dexterity. Dwarven physiology gifts them with the potential for great muscle mass as well as incredible fortitude. However, their stocky build makes them less agile.•    Speed: 4 squares or 20 ft.  -  Due to their stout build, dwarves are slightly slower than other humanoids. •    Encumbered Speed: Your innate strength and fortitude allow you to move at normal speed even when encumbered by armor or heavy loads.•    Endurance: You gain a +2 bonus to Endurance based Constitution checks. Dwarves have an innate level of constitution higher than most other races.•    Impaired Swimmer: You are never considered trained in Swimming. The sheer stocky mass of the dwarven physiology makes swimming an incredibly difficult task.•    Improved Stability: You are considered 1 size large for carrying capacity and resisting any effect that would forcibly move you (such as Bull Rush) so long as you are standing on the ground and not climbing or flying.•    Low-Light Vision: Dwarves are born with the innate ability to see well even with little light, and thus gain the low-light vision quality.UNDERGROUND CULTURE - Worker•    Ability Modifier: Gain +1 to Strength or Constitution. You have spent your life working in the mines or smithies of your people and have built up either a heightened fortitude or strength of iron.•    Enlightened Crafting: You gain a +2 bonus to Crafting oriented Intelligence checks.•     Terrain Master: You gain a +2 bonus to Dungeoneering oriented Wisdom checks. You are intimately familiar with the ways of the underground terrain.•    Weapon Training: You gain proficiency with all Hammers.UNDERGROUND CULTURE – Spiritualist (Cleric, Priest, Shaman, etc.)•    Ability Modifier: Gain +1 to Wisdom or Charisma. You have spent your life studying the religious ways of your people and helping to influence them in their spiritual lives.•    Encouraging: Once per (X period), you gain a power to grant a saving throw bonus to allies.•    Field Medicine:  You gain a +2 bonus to Heal/Medicine oriented Intelligence checks.•    Iron Will: You gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws to resist emotion and mind affecting abilities.DESERT CULTURE •    Ability Modifier: Gain +1 to Constitution or Wisdom. You have spent your life surviving in a harsh environment.•    Cast-Iron Stomach: You gain a +5 bonus to all saving throws to resist poisons and disease.•     Terrain Master: You gain a +2 bonus to Survival oriented Wisdom checks. You are intimately familiar with the ways of the desert terrain.•    Weapon Training: You gain proficiency with all Axes.</blockquote>

Verification