What to do about dolphins and whales?

[the Jester]

Okay, a little campaign background- in my campaign, dolphins, whales and other cetaceans have an average Int of 10. Dolphins are a viable pc race for aquatic games imc, and whales are kind of the 'wise men of the sea'.

Now, this has created a problem imc that I've been noticing mostly when pc druids enter the water and try to wild shape into one of them: what type should these critters be?

Should I make 'em magical beasts? (I don't like that solution AT ALL. Ain't nothing inherently magical about being smart.)

Should they be animals, but special ones that are smarter than the standard? (I don't like this one too much either- animals are pretty nearly defined by having an Int of 1-2; and I don't mind exceptions here and there, but it seems weird to have them be susceptible to animal-specific spells when they have complex cultures and are equals with the aquatic humanoids.)

Should they be a new type completely? (Don't like it. A lot of work for a VERY limited payoff, and if I can fit them into an existing type, I'd prefer it. Besides, new types are lame- deathless, I'm looking at you; you're undead, you stupid bastards, get over it.)

Should I treat them like humanoids with a nonstandard body shape? (Isn't 'humanoid' kind of a shape-defining term? Again, I don't mind exceptions, but this seems like a really clunky and artificial solution. Don't like it, no sir.)

Am I missing another, really awesome option?

Thoughts? I'm open to being persuaded that one of my disliked options is best. Or to new ideas that I have overlooked.

 

[el-remmen]

Treat them as humanoids - that's what I do, and their favored class is psion.

 

[areisan]

I would use Magical Beast as the type.

First, there are a number of creatures in the MM that are essentially just intelligent animals with
no magical abilities, and they are classified as Magical Beasts. (ex. Giant Eagle, Giant Owl). They may have been created by magic in the past, or just happen to be intelligent.

Second, animals that have the awaken spell cast on them become Magical Beasts. Other
than the spell itself, they don't gain any magic abilities, just HD and mental stats.

If you truly don't like Magical Beast, than i would suggest Outsider (Native) as the next best option.

-garth

 

[Tonguez]

They fit the definition of Magical Beast (even though they aren't inherently magical)

You've got things like the Sea Lion (I refuse to call it Sea Cat), Ankhegs and Worgs listed as Magical Beasts*

(Worg probably being the best example of intelligent animal = magical beast)

I do the same as you imc and usually just ignore the type.

Of course you could make Porpoise and Dolphin different creatures and simply declare Porpoise to be Int 2

*I never realised Giant Eagles were Magical Beasts until I read the post above. Thats even better support for intelligent animal = magical beast

 

[Celebrim]

Officially, you make them magical beasts.

Unofficially, its just dumb that all animals are limited to 2 or less intelligence and I advise that you should do whatever suits you.

 

[papastebu]

Should they be animals, but special ones that are smarter than the standard? (I don't like this one too much either- animals are pretty nearly defined by having an Int of 1-2; and I don't mind exceptions here and there, but it seems weird to have them be susceptible to animal-specific spells when they have complex cultures and are equals with the aquatic humanoids.)

Sorry if this repeats anyone's suggestions, or bumps a dead thread.

Do you really want to let the PC change into the dolphin? Is it going to ruin the player's enjoyment of the game if you don't? If not, I would require something like polymorph to do it, because that's what it would take to transform into one of the other PC races, right? In your game, they're obviously as smart, on average, as any humanoid.

If the rules in your campaign--referring to the wild-shape rules, which I don't have on-hand--allow it, and the player is dead set on it, then allow it without modification. Doesn't the druid keep mental capability in wildshape, anyway?

 

[AuraSeer]

I'd simply make them Magical Beasts and note that the type is incorrectly named. It should really be called "Unusual Beast" or something, since the type has nothing to do with magic-- it just marks animal-like critters who aren't purely animal.

(My first impulse was to make them Monstrous Humanoids, but that might be silly, because you'd expect something called "humanoid" to have arms and legs.)

 

[papastebu]

Awakened Animal? It doesn't have to be magical, does it? The dolphins in your world came into sentience in their own time, in their own way. That makes them alien, but not magical. They are pretty fabulous, though so you could call them Fabulous Beasts.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

How about changing the name of the type from humanoid to sapient, and monstrous humanoid to monstrous sapient. Your dolphins could fall under the former (under the same banner as the most common PC races) and your whales could fall under the latter (making them a bit more buff and immune to some lower level spell effects).

 

[Tonguez]

How about changing the name of the type from humanoid to sapient, and monstrous humanoid to monstrous sapient. Your dolphins could fall under the former (under the same banner as the most common PC races) and your whales could fall under the latter (making them a bit more buff and immune to some lower level spell effects).

because sapient just means "having wisdom/intelligence" which means magical beasts, dragons and giants all fit under the definition

Changing 'Magical' Beast to Fabulous Beast is a great idea however