What would this society look like?

[rogueboy]

OK, so I didn't do so great on a timely response to my own target, but so be it. Here's a brief overview of each race, along with anything specific I still want ideas/help with for each of them:

Halflings (Dex): Urban race, specializing (as a race) in information gathering/dispersal. Possible connection to birds, including Speak with Animals (Bird) as a racial ability. Dextrous, with a racial propensity for stealth. Fairly happy with them as is, at least for now.

Dwarves (Con): Mountain-dwelling race, extremely loyal and skilled in stone-carving. I like DA's idea (post 24) of having them be carved from stone and given life by some secret ritual. I also like the idea of them being driven to the surface recently, and so I'm leaning towards a possible connection between the disappearance of the dragons and the emergence of the Dwarves, which occurred shortly afterwards. I'm at a bit of a loss as to the societal implications of being crafted from stone, however.

Gnomes (Wis): Forest-dwelling race, often at odds with Elves due to their differences in how nature is best used/served. Gnomes in this world are taking over the classic Defenders of the Forest niche, which is often reserved for elves/druids. As casters, generally focus on summoning and protection magics, and have the ability to communicate with forest creatures (as Speak with Animals). Fairly happy with them.

Elves (Int): Forest-dwelling race, but focus on using and manipulating the forest to their own ends. As DA mentioned (and linked) in post 31, think Gilroy Gardens or similar manipulations of trees, quite possibly taken even farther. Still need to come up with some societal norms for them, but am otherwise pretty happy with where they are. More details on them in post 30.

Shadefolk (Cha): A semi-nomadic race without shadows, the Shadefolk usually live in desert or arctic regions, where it is unconfortably hot/cold for most other races. Their shadows [inspiration from the Earthsea series] are separate entities from the Shadefolk, and an eventual confrontation between the Shadefolk and his shadow is inevitable. The shadow is capable of inhabiting a non-Shadefolk body and taking control for a period of time, so by living where most races can't, they minimize that weapon of the shadow. For obvious reasons, non-Shadefolk are often mistrusted when encountered in the Shadefolk's normal habitat. Their eventual confrontation with their shadow can only end with one's victory over the other (Shadefolk over shadow or vice versa), and inherently changes the Shadefolk. I need to come up with what the implications of the possible outcomes of the confrontation is (death of Shadefolk if they lose? Good/evil determined by beating/losing to shadow?), but am otherwise fairly happy with the race.

Humans (Any): Nomadic, Moa-riding traders who use honey as their primary (or at least initial) trade item. More detailed description in post 30. The only race that I'm truly happy with right now.

?? (Str): For some reason, the strong race has been the most difficult for me to come up with, and I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what to use for this. Suggestions welcome. For reference: I already have plans for Warforged, Orcs, and Goblinoids [Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears, specifically], so those races can't be used for the strong race. Similarly, I'm not a huge fan of anthropomorphic races, and so would like to avoid those. I've been leaning (slightly) towards Goliaths, but am not sure I like the fluff from RoS. Stonechildren, while interesting, are a little too close to the new Dwarf fluff for my liking, I think.

I am hoping to have the fluff worked out for the races before I start working on the mechanics for any of them, but if there is something that you think is conceptually appropriate for a particular race (such as Speak with Animals for Gnomes), go ahead and mention it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Halflings (Dex): Urban race, specializing (as a race) in information gathering/dispersal. Possible connection to birds, including Speak with Animals (Bird) as a racial ability. Dextrous, with a racial propensity for stealth. Fairly happy with them as is, at least for now.

Expand their relationship with birds so its almost to the point of symbiosis or a Wizard's Familiar. Perhaps each Halfling has an affinity with only 1 kind of bird (or bird family), determined at birth as a supernatural event. Say...the first bird to cast a shadow on the exposed Halfling infant.

If you go this route, those who have an affinity to Owls would be granted special and exalted status in Halfling society. After all, Owls (who fly almost exclusively at night) rarely cast a shadow.

Whether that translates into any kind of mechanical advantage is up to you.

Dwarves (Con): Mountain-dwelling race, extremely loyal and skilled in stone-carving. I like DA's idea (post 24) of having them be carved from stone and given life by some secret ritual. I also like the idea of them being driven to the surface recently, and so I'm leaning towards a possible connection between the disappearance of the dragons and the emergence of the Dwarves, which occurred shortly afterwards. I'm at a bit of a loss as to the societal implications of being crafted from stone, however.

Well, they frequently get taken for granite! (I slay me!)

Seriously, though- they're going to be even less buoyant than your typical dwarf because they're going to be much more massive. They should probably be native elementals of some kind, meaning immunities to gas & poisons, no need to breathe, Natural armor, Natural Weapons, etc.

They may also need to pay for customized armor if they want to wear it. Perhaps, similar to Warforged, a Dwarf in armor has merely had refined steel molded into the shape of the armor the dwarf was carved wearing and then permanently attached...

Gnomes (Wis): Forest-dwelling race, often at odds with Elves due to their differences in how nature is best used/served. Gnomes in this world are taking over the classic Defenders of the Forest niche, which is often reserved for elves/druids. As casters, generally focus on summoning and protection magics, and have the ability to communicate with forest creatures (as Speak with Animals). Fairly happy with them.

Hopefully, unlike the PHB Gnomes, these guys have Speak with forest creatures at will, rather than 1/day.

Perhaps these guys are true fey.

Types & Subtypes :: d20srd.org

Elves were, too, at one point, but lost that part of themselves when they started treating Nature as something they owned rather than something they protected.

Elves (Int): Forest-dwelling race, but focus on using and manipulating the forest to their own ends. As DA mentioned (and linked) in post 31, think Gilroy Gardens or similar manipulations of trees, quite possibly taken even farther. Still need to come up with some societal norms for them, but am otherwise pretty happy with where they are. More details on them in post 30.

Given their willingness to reshape nature, perhaps they extended that inclination to themselves. (Think both the negative side effects of overused magic that plagued Elves in Shanarra or the way Elves in Elfquest had different body modifications.)

Using magic to reshape themselves could give them something like Geomancer Drift. Or perhaps each one has a trait similar to what one would find with a nature-themed template, or certain Aberration/Vile feats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elves_(Shannara)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowen_(Shannara)
Elfquest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/featsform.pl
http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/featsform.pl

Shadefolk (Cha): A semi-nomadic race without shadows, the Shadefolk usually live in desert or arctic regions, where it is unconfortably hot/cold for most other races. Their shadows [inspiration from the Earthsea series] are separate entities from the Shadefolk, and an eventual confrontation between the Shadefolk and his shadow is inevitable. The shadow is capable of inhabiting a non-Shadefolk body and taking control for a period of time, so by living where most races can't, they minimize that weapon of the shadow. For obvious reasons, non-Shadefolk are often mistrusted when encountered in the Shadefolk's normal habitat. Their eventual confrontation with their shadow can only end with one's victory over the other (Shadefolk over shadow or vice versa), and inherently changes the Shadefolk. I need to come up with what the implications of the possible outcomes of the confrontation is (death of Shadefolk if they lose? Good/evil determined by beating/losing to shadow?), but am otherwise fairly happy with the race.

Humans (Any): Nomadic, Moa-riding traders who use honey as their primary (or at least initial) trade item. More detailed description in post 30. The only race that I'm truly happy with right now.

I'm glad all that work we put in paid off!

?? (Str): For some reason, the strong race has been the most difficult for me to come up with, and I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what to use for this. Suggestions welcome. For reference: I already have plans for Warforged, Orcs, and Goblinoids [Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears, specifically], so those races can't be used for the strong race. Similarly, I'm not a huge fan of anthropomorphic races, and so would like to avoid those. I've been leaning (slightly) towards Goliaths, but am not sure I like the fluff from RoS. Stonechildren, while interesting, are a little too close to the new Dwarf fluff for my liking, I think.

How tweeking the Frostburn Neanderthals into a race that has Rage as a racial ability- dropping Primitive Weapon familiarity and Climate tolerance- that stacks with classes that grant the same? In a sense, that would make them sort of like the Warped Ones from Slaine with their "Earthpower" abilities. If you don't want it to be modeled on Rage, then how about having Enlarge Person as a spell-like ability 1/day per 3 PC levels.

Slaine - The Roleplaying Game of Celtic Heroes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slaine - RPG Reviews - GameWyrd

Or take a completely different path...instead of it being a Str race, make it into a feat that can only be taken at PC creation. This would make it be something like Spellfire. Exactly what it means to have this feat could have different implications depending on how you design it.

For instance, if you model it exactly like Spellfire, having this Feat means you're marked by fate for great deeds. The supernatural strength you gain is not something you can always call upon, but rather, you must absorb spell energy to power the boost.

A more mundane approach would be to model it after Toughness, with a resultant feat tree that would let the player boost the PC's strength over time.

 

[Quartz]

Dwarves (Con): Mountain-dwelling race, extremely loyal and skilled in stone-carving. I like DA's idea (post 24) of having them be carved from stone and given life by some secret ritual. I also like the idea of them being driven to the surface recently, and so I'm leaning towards a possible connection between the disappearance of the dragons and the emergence of the Dwarves, which occurred shortly afterwards. I'm at a bit of a loss as to the societal implications of being crafted from stone, however.

So really, they're Warforged with different looks. Call them Stoneforged instead.

 

[rogueboy]

Once again, Danny, you've got some awesome ideas in here, thanks! I'll go through my responses to each of them below.

Expand their relationship with birds so its almost to the point of symbiosis or a Wizard's Familiar. Perhaps each Halfling has an affinity with only 1 kind of bird (or bird family), determined at birth as a supernatural event. Say...the first bird to cast a shadow on the exposed Halfling infant.

If you go this route, those who have an affinity to Owls would be granted special and exalted status in Halfling society. After all, Owls (who fly almost exclusively at night) rarely cast a shadow.

Whether that translates into any kind of mechanical advantage is up to you.

I like this a lot. I am hoping to have a couple different options for each race (for example, you can pick 3 of these 5 abilities) so that not every member of a race is identical, and this gives a very nice flavor reason for the halflings. I will definitely have to figure out how to make this work.

Well, they frequently get taken for granite! (I slay me!)

Seriously, though- they're going to be even less buoyant than your typical dwarf because they're going to be much more massive. They should probably be native elementals of some kind, meaning immunities to gas & poisons, no need to breathe, Natural armor, Natural Weapons, etc.

They may also need to pay for customized armor if they want to wear it. Perhaps, similar to Warforged, a Dwarf in armor has merely had refined steel molded into the shape of the armor the dwarf was carved wearing and then permanently attached...

Native elementals is probably a good approach, and I think that in and of itself (well, given the various repercussions of that) can lead to some interesting societal norms/oddities. The Warforged-type armor (either feat or permanently welded to them) is definitely an interesting thought, I'll have to keep that in mind for them.

Hopefully, unlike the PHB Gnomes, these guys have Speak with forest creatures at will, rather than 1/day.

Perhaps these guys are true fey.

Types & Subtypes :: d20srd.org

Elves were, too, at one point, but lost that part of themselves when they started treating Nature as something they owned rather than something they protected.

I was planning to have Speak with forest creatures be an at will ability, none of this stupid 1/day stuff. And I think I like having them be true fey. The only feature I see on that list from the SRD that they would get from being a Fey is low-light vision (since armor/weapon proficiencies aren't inherent to the type and the rest of it is HD-based stuff). Also, I like the description you use of the Elves treatment of Nature: soemthing to be owned rather than protected.

Given their willingness to reshape nature, perhaps they extended that inclination to themselves. (Think both the negative side effects of overused magic that plagued Elves in Shanarra or the way Elves in Elfquest had different body modifications.)

Using magic to reshape themselves could give them something like Geomancer Drift. Or perhaps each one has a trait similar to what one would find with a nature-themed template, or certain Aberration/Vile feats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elves_(Shannara)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowen_(Shannara)
Elfquest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/featsform.pl
http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/featsform.pl

Unfortunately, despite the fact that I have a bunch of Shanarra books on my shelf, I have not had time to read them yet. I'll browse through the Wikipedia articles, but the extension to self-modification is something that I think I shall use.

How tweeking the Frostburn Neanderthals into a race that has Rage as a racial ability- dropping Primitive Weapon familiarity and Climate tolerance- that stacks with classes that grant the same? In a sense, that would make them sort of like the Warped Ones from Slaine with their "Earthpower" abilities. If you don't want it to be modeled on Rage, then how about having Enlarge Person as a spell-like ability 1/day per 3 PC levels.

Slaine - The Roleplaying Game of Celtic Heroes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Slaine - RPG Reviews - GameWyrd

Or take a completely different path...instead of it being a Str race, make it into a feat that can only be taken at PC creation. This would make it be something like Spellfire. Exactly what it means to have this feat could have different implications depending on how you design it.

For instance, if you model it exactly like Spellfire, having this Feat means you're marked by fate for great deeds. The supernatural strength you gain is not something you can always call upon, but rather, you must absorb spell energy to power the boost.

A more mundane approach would be to model it after Toughness, with a resultant feat tree that would let the player boost the PC's strength over time.

I like the idea of having either Rage or Enlarge Person being available as a racial feature for the strong race. I think it's back to brainstorming for this race, at least for the time being.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Once again, Danny, you've got some awesome ideas in here, thanks! I'll go through my responses to each of them below.

I will definitely have to figure out how to make this work.

In the case of the Halflings, these options could be simply societal. Owls may be tapped for the Shaman/Druid/Cleric types among them; Eagles and the like may be the warriors and rulers; Crows & Ravens would gravitate towards magery or thievery; Chickens the farmers...

Not that you're bound by those roles, just that those are what Halfling society expects of you, and there may be certain social- not magical or mechanical- benefits to each social class/clan/totem (whatever you call them).

I like the idea of having either Rage or Enlarge Person being available as a racial feature for the strong race. I think it's back to brainstorming for this race, at least for the time being.

Overall, I think I prefer the Enlarge Person idea, and here's why.

I originally got the racial Rage idea from the way Wookies were handled in Star Wars D20. However, in D&D, that racial ability has synergy with a class that does exactly the same thing AND a Feat tree that enhances the quality of your Rage. That could get out of hand quite quickly. Then there's that whole post-Rage and danger to others issue.

OTOH, Enlarge Person has only spells to add to the daily use totals, and nothing else improves it. The only thing that could really get ugly with it is if you also gave the race Powerful Build.

Actually...this gives me an idea!

Norse mythology had a race of giantkind called jotuns. They were generally physically strong, but according to some legends, they were also able to change their shapes. At least some of them.

Your strong race could be Jotuns- either size M humanoids with Powerful Build or large humanoids, descended from a race of arcanely powerful giants who were wiped out by the gods. In addition to their obvious bulk, have a limited shapechange ability- in this case, Enlarge Person.

Or maybe they have a menu of minor shapechanges/transmutations- Enlarge Person, Alter Self, Barkskin, etc.- that are gained as SLA's over several levels. Possibly even a Cure Light Wounds (self-only) SLA reflecting a kind of limited regeneration that comes from their transformational powers.

Toss in a +1DC with Transmutation spells/powers and you've got an unusual race...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I posted this in another thread, but I thought it might be of use to you as well.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-places/264490-d-d-3-5-advanced-technology.html#post4920125
...S.M. Stirling's sword & planet novel, In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, the Martians are masters of biotechnology, having had no interruptions in their culture in tens of thousands of years, but also having no access to fossil fuels or nuclear materials.

Their biotech extends to all kinds of things we use for tech, like living engines...and even guns. The martian gun-creatures fire needle-like projectiles by using exploding methane as the propellant. Yes, they need to be fed; yes, they can only fire as fast as they can refill their gas chambers; yes, shooting them results in a burning fart smell.

(BTW, I'm yoinking this for the martians in my Supers 1912 campaign.)

I bring that all up because...you can have Druids doing the same doggone thing. A little Druidic magic, alchemy and animal/plant lore, combined with...lets say...Craft Wand?...and your mundane Wand of Magic Missiles becomes a living Druidic poison dart flinger. OK...you wouldn't let that have the autohit...

I bring it up, not for use by Druids, but by Elves, since, as we've discussed...

Elves (Int): Forest-dwelling race, but focus on using and manipulating the forest to their own ends. As DA mentioned (and linked) in post 31, think Gilroy Gardens or similar manipulations of trees, quite possibly taken even farther. Still need to come up with some societal norms for them, but am otherwise pretty happy with where they are. More details on them in post 30.

Elves...lost that part of themselves when they started treating Nature as something they owned rather than something they protected.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I know its beating a dead 'saur, but recently discovered...a miniature T-Rex!

Early, smaller version of T. rex discovered - Yahoo! News

Just about the same size as a middling large Moa species.